Lynnfield school super Hasset takes over No. 1 spot

LYNNFIELD – For yet another year there was a shuffle at the top of the list of Lynnfield’s highest paid public employees in 2009, according to the town’s payroll.https://newitemlive.wpengine.com/special/salaries/?id=2Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus took a pay cut in 2009, falling from first in 2008 to third this year, while Lynnfield Schools Superintendent Bob Hassett saw a pay increase of more than $22,000 to take over the top spot. Interim Police Chief Joseph Dunn stayed at second on the list, although he took a pay cut of just less than $1,000.Hassett earned $176,875 in 2009, an increase from the $154,176 he made in 2008, his first year on the job.Gustus’ salary of $158,336 in 2008 was high enough to top the list, but in 2009 he made $151,487. In 2007, Gustus earned $121,775 and was 7th on the list.Dunn, who made $154,866 including overtime and detail work in 2008, made $153,969 last year. Hassett, the former principal of Lynnfield High, said his place at the top of the list is the result of different incentives in his contract that differ from former superintendent Richard Palermo, who resigned two years ago.”The previous superintendent used to get mileage and longevity, and I didn’t want either of those,” Hassett said. “I preferred the ($5,700) annuity; there was no change in what was given out, it just wasn’t included in his annual salary. If it looked like a bigger jump, that’s why.”Hassett also receives an incentive of $6,102 in his salary for not choosing to use the town’s health care plan and a vacation buyback incentive of $4,309 to keep the district from paying for 75 accrued vacation days at the end of his three-year contract.”I’ve been (in Lynnfield) 36 years and reached the point where I have the maximum retirement percentage,” he said. “At the end of the contract next year, I am done with my career, and the School Committee didn’t want to have any vacation time. I thought that was a pretty reasonable agreement.”The fourth highest earner was Fire Captain Michael Feinberg, who earned $151,273 in 2009, followed by Police Sgt. David Breen, who earned $144,772 last year. Patrolman Sean Kilroy, $142,711; Detective Sean Donovan, $135,994; patrolman Charles Peabody, $125,676; dispatcher/EMT Anne Romano, $121,466; and Fire Lt. Steven Allison, $120,860 rounded out the top 10.Romano’s husband, Paul Romano, earned $107,586 in 2009 as the police and fire chief before he was asked to retire as part of a court settlement with selectmen last July. He was given $33,000 in post-retirement benefits.