25 Exeter town employees earned $100,000 or more in 2023: Here's list of all salaries

EXETER — Police officers and firefighters were among the town's top wage earners in 2023, making up 60% of the town’s 25 highest-paid employees.

Nine police officers made over $100,000, many of whom did so through overtime, special details and other earnings. Leading the way was police Sgt. Joseph Byron with $134,091, of which $59,788 was through overtime and special details.

Searchable database: Salaries for all Exeter town employees in 2023

Six firefighters also made more than $100,000, half of them due to overtime and other earnings like buyouts, longevity and stipends.

The top wage earner of 2023 was town engineer Paul Vlasich, who made $135,762 with a 10% boost in salary for also serving as interim public works director that year.

Town Manager Russ Dean was the second top wage earner with $135,418. Compared to another town of similar size, Dean earned around $23,000 less than Hampton Town Manager Jamie Sullivan, who brought in $158,424.23 last year. However, Dean said his wage is "more competitive” after being awarded a new one-year contract in December with a 9% salary increase from $140,932 to $154,000.

Rounding out the top five was Byron, followed by Police Chief Stephan Poulin at $129,633, and police Sgt. Theodore Sierad at $124,914, with $39,683 of that in overtime.

The town spent $11.35 million on wages in 2023, making up 53.07% of its $21.38 million general fund operating budget.

Hampton salaries: 42 town employees earned $100,000 or more in 2023

Overtime drives up wages for police and firefighters

The Police Department has 43 staff, which includes full-time, on-call officers and dispatchers. Last year, the department reported $2.8 million in salaries, including $364,157 in overtime, $162,410 in special detail, and $196,820 in other earnings.

Deputy Police Chief Josh McCain said special details are “when an outside agency or entities hire a police officer for our services, it’s usually paid for from that actual company.”

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Other earnings may include buyouts, longevity, severance, stipends, stand-by, incentives and/or holiday pay as stipulated by contract.

Town Manager Russ Dean said the overtime worked last year by police officers “is pretty normal.”

“I will say that we had some issues with the Police Department in terms of staffing, so we were short-staffed there,” said Dean. “So we had to incur a little bit more overtime than we normally would … But I would say, in a relative sense, the overtime is pretty much in line with where it’s been in the past.”

Dean said the Police Department has been fully staffed since August, a situation McCain calls “a win.”

“It’s a win for all law enforcement because if you call around all the other area departments, I don’t know if anyone will be able to tell you that they’re at full staff,” said McCain.

Six firefighters made more than $100,000 last year, with half doing so through overtime.

The top wage earner in that department was Fire Chief Eric Wilking, who made $117,840, followed by Fire Capt. Mark Bradford, who made $107,930 of which $29,988 was through overtime and other earnings.

The Fire Department has 39 employees, including full-time and part-time firefighters and EMTs. It reported $2.6 million in salaries, including $328,405 in overtime earnings.

Dean attributed a lack of staff, similar to the Police Department, to the driver in overtime costs.

It also, he said, is “a reflection of an active year.”

Currently, there is one open position with the Fire Department.

“In the Fire Department, (overtime is) going to be based on call volume and activity,” said Dean.

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Exeter puts focus on retaining and attracting employees

Dean said the 2024 proposed town operating budget is $22,860,862, or a 7.2% increase, over last year’s budget.

Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstantis said at a recent public hearing on the budget that the increase reflects an effort by the board to retain and recruit new employees.

That includes a wage reclassification, which hadn't been done since 2014. The board approved funds to bring in a third-party consultant to compare Exeter's salaries with other towns to adjust wages appropriately.

"The cost to recruit and replace is far greater than fairly reclassifying wages for long-term employees who really perform well for Exeter," Papakonstantis said.

The only new position in the budget is a part-time welfare position.

At the same hearing, Select Board member Dan Chartrand asked how much of the budget increase is related to employee retention and filling positions.

Dean said it accounts for $568,021 of the increase, or 5.8%.

Wage increases in the proposed budget include a step adjustment of 3%, plus a 2% cost of living increase, for eligible non-union employees with the first pay period in July. Union contracts settled through 2024 and 2025, include a 2.5% step increase and a 2% cost-of-living adjustment in 2024.

Compared to last year, Dean said that wage adjustments are part of the town’s effort in retention and “to be more competitive with our neighbors.”

Dean said fewer people are going into local government and public safety services because of "public perception of certain industries."

“But again, I think we’re hopeful for the future,” said Dean. “We’re hopeful that we’ll see more candidates come our way. But it seems to be a reflection of the general labor market more than anything else, just that there are a lot of openings in local government is the same as the private sectors in that regard right now … a lot of openings and not enough bodies to fill those openings.”

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH top salaries 2023: Here's the whole list.