Quincy's payroll: Who made $386,000 in 2023. And every city salary

QUINCY − Of the 50 highest paid city employees in 2023, 44 were police officers, including now-retired Police Chief Paul Keenan, who tops the list at $386,796. Overall, the city's payroll increased by 9.8% from 2022, rising by more than $21 million to $236,344,500.

Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy said that Keenan's income included a payout for unused sick days and vacation time.

Raises for department heads

Last June, city council approved substantial salary increases for department heads and senior management positions at the request of Mayor Thomas Koch. Explaining the rationale behind the pay hikes, Koch said the city needs to stay competitive to attract and retain high-end talent.

Koch received $159,141 in 2023, making him the 204th highest paid Quincy employee.

The only employee outside the police and fire departments among the top 50 was Superintendent of Schools Kevin Mulvey, who earned $236,507. The city's highest paid women were police Sgt. Jennifer Tapper at $229,872 and Assistant Superintendent of Schools Erin Perkins, who earned $219,451.21. Tapper and Perkins were the only women to earn more than $200,000.

Police, firefighters, teachers and paraprofessionals

Police received an average compensation of $166,065, an increase of $18,640, or 12.1%, over 2022. The police department paid out a total of $7,223,777 in overtime pay in 2023, which is a slight decrease compared with 2022. Overtime made up about 18% of total pay to police employees in 2023.

Kennedy said that overtime is "standard for police personnel," who have to respond to "predictably unpredictable" events, such as extreme weather or large protests.

Overtime pay spiked in 2020 due to multiple flooding events on the city's peninsulas as well as large protests related to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25 of that year, Kennedy said.

Second to police officers were firefighters, who received an average pay of $138,593, an 8% increase from last year. Firefighters received a combined $5,573,211 in overtime pay last year, about 37% more than 2022.

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Classroom teachers received an average of just under $82,000 in 2023, an increase of about 2% from 2022. A new teacher beginning at the bottom of the pay scale earned just under $55,000. Paraprofessional teachers, who assist lead teachers, often in classrooms for students with special needs, received average pay of $23,860, up from $18,986 in 2022.

Quincy's top ten highest paid public employees

1. Police Chief (outgoing) Paul Keenan: $386,796

2. Police Capt. (outgoing) Richard McCusker: $291,589

3. Police Sgt. Patrick Faherty: $290,693

4. Police Capt. Michael Miller: $288,793

5. Police Sgt. Michael Tapper: $284,358

6. Police Lt. Robert Gillan: $283,145

7. Police Lt. Joseph Lencki: $282,810

8. Police Capt. Gregory Goyette: $281,444

9. Police Capt. James Flaherty: $278,493

10. Police Lt. William Ward: $265,906

Database: See all the Quincy city employee 2023 salaries, overtime, and other pay

Database: See all the Quincy MA public school employee salaries, overtime, and other pay

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: How much Quincy city employees are paid