ABINGTON – In fiscal 2023, Abington, a town of just over 17,000 people, paid $32 million in compensation to public employees. The school department, which employed 568 people, made up about two-thirds of the total at $23,542,929.22.

Former Fire Chief John Nuttall, who retired in May 2023, received the highest compensation at just over $250,000. That includes almost $95,000 above his regular salary, which likely reflects a buyback of unused vacation time and other earned time off, according to his replacement, Fire Chief John Glynn.

Behind Nuttall on the list of highest-paid employees is outgoing School Superintendent Peter Schafer. The top 10 also includes Assistant Superintendent Felicia Moschella, the only woman appearing on the list. Police officers and firefighters make up the rest of the top 10.

Firefighters received the highest average compensation, at $129,868.49, which includes more than $40,000 in overtime per firefighter. The department spent just over $1 million on overtime pay, or about 28% of total compensation. The police department paid just more than $760,000 in overtime.

Glynn, who became chief last year, told The Patriot Ledger that media reports on public salaries overemphasizing high salaries of some employees without proper context can arouse hostility towards public safety personnel.

Given current staffing levels, overtime is necessary to cover holidays and vacations, Glynn said, and firefighters often have to respond to emergency calls when off duty.

"Overtime is not a reward for us," he said. "It's to get us covered. Some of these guys are working 100 hours a week. ... Those are the people that fill those gaps. They sacrifice a lot of family time and their own social life."

All Abington firefighters are cross-trained as paramedics, the highest level of emergency medical technicians or EMTs, allowing the department to staff two ambulances, an arrangement that Glynn said gives residents better, more cost-efficient emergency services.

But that comes with a cost. With a limited number of full-time firefighters, the department often relies on overtime coverage when employees take time off or are away for training. Hiring new firefighters is long process that Glynn said has become more difficult in recent years.

"For whatever reason, we're not having as many applicants as we used to," he said.

• John Nuttall, fire chief: $252,679.24
• Peter Schafer, school superintendent: $215,934.12 
• Kevin Sullivan, deputy police chief: $207,389.08 
• Jarrod Driscoll, deputy fire chief: $203,909.64
• Stephen Marquardt, police patrolman: $184,183.27 

See all the school salaries: What each educator made in 2023

See all the 2023 salaries: A searchable database of every town employee

• Felicia Moschella, assistant school superintendent: $181,343.36 
• Christopher Sanderson, police patrolman: $178,726.63 
• Brian Feely, police sergeant, $177,709.15 
• David Del Papa, police chief: $170,960.14 
• George Gardiner, fire captain EMT: $170,461.37 

News Source : https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2024/04/14/abington-ma-top-salaries-2023-pay-salary/73193920007/