1,948 city workers earn over $100,000

8% increase from '06 driven by police and fire overtime

The ranks of Boston city employees earning more than $100,000 a year swelled 8 percent last year, reflecting the city's continued heavy reliance on overtime to staff police and fire services. A total of 1,948 city workers took home six-figure pay in 2007, up from 1,795 in 2006.

Police officers made up the majority of the high earners, with nearly 1,400 earning more than $100,000. They enhanced their salaries with an average of $52,000 each in combined overtime and private detail pay.

Roughly 450 firefighters were among the city's six-figure earners. They, too, supplemented their paychecks with overtime and detail shifts, taking home an average of $20,000 each for the additional pay.

The size of the city payroll also grew last year by 194 employees to 8,663, 183 of those in the police and fire departments. The overall payroll, not including public schools, grew by 5 percent, according to 2007 payroll records released yesterday.

The changes reflect an increasing emphasis on public safety, even as many private companies are outsourcing work and laying off employees and as the country seems headed toward economic recession.

A nonprofit fiscal group sounded a note of caution yesterday, saying that the city cannot afford to continue increasing payroll costs so steeply. Samuel R. Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, said that cities and towns are strapped and that Boston needs to keep a tighter hold on its purse strings.

"This trend has to be of concern," said Tyler, whose research last year showed city employee earnings had climbed by 15 percent over three years. "Our concern is that this cost is just unsustainable. This is sort of the opposite direction of what we're seeing in the private sector."

Lisa Signori, the city's director of administration and finance, said the city had to increase public safety spending and hire police officers and firefighters.

"The city continues to practice sound financial management to invest in its priorities and to ensure that taxpayers are well served," Signori said.

The number of employees earning $200,000 grew slightly last year to 29. In 2006, there were 27 city employees who collected at least that much. Mayor Thomas M. Menino ranked 109th in total pay last year, taking home $175,000.

The city's highest paid employee last year was police Captain William B. Evans, a district commander who oversees the Back Bay and the South End. He earned $227,763 in 2007, which includes roughly $57,000 in overtime pay and $21,700 for private detail shifts. Police officials said his area also covers Fenway Park, where the Red Sox race for the American League and World Series titles last year required large police operations.

A pair of homicide detectives collected the second and third highest amounts. Lieutenant Detective Robert M. Merner, the city's lead homicide detective, took home $227,728, including $97,494 in overtime pay. Sergeant Detective Daniel M. Keeler earned $225,719, including $83,344 in overtime and another $19,188 in detail pay.

Police employees typically have been the highest paid in the city in recent years. Rank-and-file patrol officers took home an average of $93,085 each. They made roughly $14,000 in overtime, on average, and $20,500 in detail pay.

Firefighters, who are currently embroiled in a bitter contract dispute with the city, earned an average of $79,057 each last year.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.