Gas and Light Department, Police, Were Top-Paid Town Employees in 2010

Employees from the and dominate the list of highest paid town employees in Wakefield, with 72% of the town's top 50 salaries belonging to either of those departments.

The town's top paid employee in 2010 was Peter Dion, manager of the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department. Dion made a salary of $148,334.79 in 2010.

“That’s my contracted salary, although everybody at the department took half percent a less in 2010 than what they were entitled to by contract,” said Dion “There were just a lot of major things going on, with a big replacement of the gas system and major upgrades on the electric side to serve the new big customer at the head of the lake.”

Another individual from the WMGLD broke into the top three highest paid salaries for 2010.  Frederick Brown, foreman of the gas crew, made $133,834,37.

“During the rainstorms in March our gas guys were basically on the clock from mid-March into June before we got all the problems wrapped up on that,” Dion said.

Police Pay
Chief Richard Smith of the Wakefield Police Department made the highest salary in base pay of the police department, at $133, 478.90, putting him third on the highest paid town employee list behind Brown and Dion.

However, some police officers picked up extra pay through extra hours of detail work. For example, Detective Jack Ryan earned $134,632.47 in 2010 because of $27,936.50 he made working details on top of his base salary of $106, 695.97.  Ryan’s base pay puts him 28th on the highest paid list, but the inclusion of his detail earnings shoots him up to 2nd highest paid town employee in 2010.

Other top earners of detail pay were Officer Kenneth Silva ($20, 506.50) Officer Sean Beede, $20,401.50, Detective Chris Grace ($19,320) and Sgt. Steven Skory ($15,435).

Dion said much of the work the WMGLD did on the streets required police detail work.  

"The two departments [police and the WMGLD] were both high[ly paid] because we were working closely together on a number of big projects," he said.

Chief Smith said he is aware of the concerns residents have about police details - which pay $43 per hour - but stressed that an officer on a detail is not only directing traffic or ensuring public safety, but also supplementing the patrol officers in the street, whether it’s a detail paid for by the town or not.

“An officer on a detail is fully equipped with a radio, handgun, handcuffs, etc.,” Smith said. “We’ve made more arrests this year by officers on details than ever before. And on days where we’re severely short staffed, to have an officer on detail who is not being paid out of the tax roll is a plus.”

One such example of this was an arrest made by Detective Chrisopher Grace, who .

“When an officer is working and on a detail they’re not with their family, they’re not attending their kids' sports games, “ said Chief Smith. “We have parameters on how many hours an officer can work in a period of time and we’re very strict on that so as long as they are fit and ready for duty when they report, I wish them to take on the work because I consider it free help."

Other Departments
Forty-nine employees paid by the town of Wakefield made more than $100,000 in 2010, according to data provided by the town of Wakefield.

Only one other department besides police and the WMGLD broke into the top 25: Schools. Wakefield Superintendent Joan Landers was the highest paid school employee in 2010, with a salary of $121,378.69, making her 13th overall in pay in town.  The next highest paid school employee is Wakefield Memorial High School Principal Kimberly Smith, with a salary of $106, 050.10, the 38th overall salary in town.

Other departments with salaries in the top 50 highest paid in 2010 were:

• Information Technology: David Knox earned $110,085.
• Fire: Francis Hudson earned $109, 857, Joseph Riley earned $108,600, and Chief Michael Sullivan earned $101, 054. 
• Water/sewer Department: Steven Fitzpatrick earned $109,606.63.
• Department of Public Works:  Director Richard Stinson earned $104,945.
•  Town Administrator: Stephen Maio earned $106, 896.

For more detailed salary data, click on the chart on the top right side of the page.