Oct. 17—Thanks to COVID-19, a chronic workforce shortage and liberal use of overtime, the top leaders in state and Manchester city government are far from their highest-paid employees.

According to a New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News analysis of state and municipal payroll records, Gov. Chris Sununu's $149,231 salary ranks him 107th among the state's 12,000 full- and part-time workers.

Mayor Joyce Craig is much farther down Manchester's payroll, with 596 city workers making more than her $73,834.

The mayor's pay places her just above the average of the Queen City's 1,297 full- and part-time city workers.

Most often in the private sector, the CEO is the top wage-earner, followed by executive vice presidents, department heads, corporate lawyers and other executives.

For a number of reasons, that principle doesn't apply in government. Consider:

—10 of the 11 highest-paid state workers are rank-and-file employees, including seven corrections officers and three nurses or coordinators in the Department of Health and Human Services. The outlier is State Medical Examiner Jennie Duval, with the highest base salary, $247,500.

—Corrections Officer Claudia Prescott led all state earners at $255,247. Her $189,939 in overtime was more than three times her annual salary of nearly $57,000.

—Retired Manchester Police Lt. Jamie Gallant's gross earnings of $256,768 surpassed that of the next-highest paid city official, Airport Director Ted Kitchens, by more than $26,000. Gallant's total wages included payouts for unused sick and vacation leave when he left the city payroll.

—Thanks to overtime throughout the state prison system, 27 officers make more than Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks' $144,354 salary.

—Eleven nurses and support staff were paid more than Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette ($152,333), and at least six state police staffers took home more than Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn ($144,354).

—Among the 100 highest-paid state workers, only eight were agency executives, 56 worked as judges or marital masters and the other 36 were staff who made the list after adding overtime, holiday pay, retirement pay and state police "special duty" work.

OT cheaper, more efficient

In 2017, when Administrative Services Commissioner Charles Arlinghaus became the corporate equivalent of New Hampshire's chief operating officer, he said he came to realize the value of overtime pay.

"Overtime is often very cost-effective for many state departments to utilize," said Arlinghaus, who previously headed the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a free enterprise think tank.

"You aren't paying an extra set of benefits, you don't bear those extra costs to hire, train, provide insurance and the like. Most workers in those categories like working a modest number of hours, so there is clearly a point at which you are saving money."

Arlinghaus said the state's work to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 caused a variety of changes in payroll totals.

"Without question, COVID-19 played a part. First, you had so many departments that suddenly had more pressing demands placed on them — public health, law enforcement, corrections, New Hampshire Hospital, you name it," Arlinghaus said.

"What was harder to quantify was how much routine state government work during the early months of the pandemic took a back seat. For example, you had dozens of state employees flooding into Employment Security to process the soaring applications for unemployment," Arlinghaus said.

"At some point, the agency's original task at hand still needs to get done, so the hours pile up."

Manchester police and firefighters, like other first responders across the state, received an additional $300-a-week stipend from May through June 2020, through a program Sununu created by executive order.

The funding for the stipend and any payroll-related taxes came from the federal CARES Act money.

Each full-time Manchester police officer and firefighter received $2,485.71 in COVID-19 stipend dollars.

COVID impact heaviest in HHS

The COVID-19 overtime burden was likely greatest in HHS, the state's largest agency, which accounts for more than 40% of the state budget.

Total payroll at HHS during 2020 was $178.5 million, nearly twice the second-largest payroll, the Department of Transportation's $88 million.

"The response was not isolated to the hard-working staff in the Division of Public Health Services," said Jake Leon, HHS' public information officer.

"It involved every program and bureau in the Department. The staff has worked tirelessly to ensure our clients and residents have the tools, resources and connections to navigate the impact the pandemic has had on their day-to-day lives."

At the Department of Corrections, reducing overtime has been difficult because of the number of vacancies for correction officers, and in probation and parole, according to Tina Thurber, DOC's director of communications, marketing and employee wellness.

Corrections Commissioner Hanks has created a recruiting team aimed at identifying future officers, Thurber said.

Hanks intends to restructure the state's corrections academy within the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council to create a part-time option so certified officers could be hired to work less than full-time hours.

"Of all law enforcement agencies, (corrections) agencies have the least flexibility and the fewest options when it comes to mitigating staffing challenges," Thurber said.

Unlike police, "we can't reduce the number of patrol units on the street, or close a sub-station, or any of the things other agencies may choose to do. We have a 24-7, in-person, operational mission, with the added challenge of a congregate living situation during a pandemic, where we must provide food, health care and other forms of basic life support to our residents, every day."

OT throughout corrections

While corrections officers earned the most overtime, the extra pay was seen across the agency, she said.

"Line personnel (i.e. educators, case managers, etc.) and other staff had to take on posts associated with COVID-19," Thurber said, as they stepped in to do jobs such as taking temperatures when housing units were under quarantine, screening staff or helping in kitchens.

To limit overtime, Thurber said, the State Prison for Men in Concord closed select tiers and pods in housing units to reduce staffing needs and tried to make the parole process more efficient.

Recently the agency hired a pair of wellness coordinators to create a peer support network for staff.

Arlinghaus said it's important for all state managers to monitor overtime use to make sure employees are getting enough time off and not risking burnout.

"I encourage people in our own team to take vacations because I need you to recharge," Arlinghaus said.

"For people who work so much, you've got to give them recovery time."

All told, more than 560 state employees make at least $100,000. In Manchester, 242 employees made six figures.

High retiree compensation

The highest pay levels in Manchester were dominated by former city employees who retired and received additional payouts.

Former Police Chief Carlo Capano received the third-highest gross in 2020, at $216,633. Current Police Chief Allen Aldenberg was fourth with $204,021.

Former Fire Chief Dan Goonan was 14th, with earnings of $172,251.

On the police side, officer Neil Penttinen received the most overtime pay: $64,047. Second was Kenneth Brunini with $54,479, and third was Brian Cosio with $52,407.

In all, Manchester officers earned $3,797,388 in overtime pay in 2020.

Officer Steven Maloney was tops among officers in extra detail pay, taking home $70,068. Second was officer Stephen Irwin, with $65,494, followed by officer Thomas Gonzales at $65,280.

In the fire department, firefighter Steven Goupil earned the most overtime pay — $56,566 — in 2020, followed by Fire Lt. Jason Cote with $39,603 and Fire Dispatcher Philip Talbot at $28,378.

In extra detail pay, firefighter Devin Martin was tops with $13,829 in 2018. Fire Prevention Inspector Mitchell Cady was second with $11,295, and firefighter Daniel Connell had $11,254.

City pay is based on a salary formula developed in the late 1990s by the Yarger-Decker consultant group. Before then, individual departments had separate pay scales, so an administrative assistant in one department could earn more than an administrative assistant in another city department.

klandrigan@unionleader.com

pfeely@unionleader.com