By Steve Marantz
February 2, 2001 Friday ALL EDITIONS
Copyright 2001 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
February 2, 2001 Friday ALL EDITIONS
(BOSTON) --Eleven police officers pulled in more than $200,000 last year - and another 727 topped $100,000 - as their paychecks ballooned from overtime, details and first-time educational benefits.
At the top of the heap was Capt. Charles Cellucci, the department’s top earner at $235,903. The top earner in 1999 made $158,062.
Following Cellucci, but not by far, was Lt. John Kervin with $230,991 in total earnings.
Two factors drove up police pay, records show: Retroactive pay to comply with a superior officers’ contract settlement, and pay linked to higher education degrees under the so-called “Quinn Bill.”
Firefighters union officials, battling for a contract, say they will carry the big money figures released by the police department yesterday to the bargaining table against Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
The top 23 police earners were superior officers who realized a four-year retroactive payment in addition to Quinn benefits.
Twenty officers earned between $180,000 and $200,000 while another 78 officers earned between $150,000 and $180,000, buoyed by $12.9 million in benefits paid to 1,228 officers with college degrees under the Quinn Bill.
In 1999, just 381 officers earned over $100,000.
Last year, Sgt. John Burns, Jr. topped detail earners at $69,478 with Sgt. Timothy Kervin second at $62,213. Sgt. Det. Daniel Keeler earned the most overtime, $64,525, while Sgt. Det. James Wyse followed with $57,143.
Overtime is running above the $19 million budgeted, said William Good, the department’s budget chief, because of almost $1 million incurred for the presidential debate and Tall Ships. Halfway through fiscal 2001 the department had spent $10.8 million on overtime.
Police earnings are fueling the resolve of firefighters - who average about $65,000 in total pay - to obtain a favorable contract after 18 months of futile talks.
“We deserve parity - we had it until 15 years ago and then we lost our way,” said Jack McKenna, president of Firefighters Local 718. “We both risk our lives for the public and we both get injured in the line of duty.”
Good declined to speculate on the ripple effect of police earnings, saying, “Every department bargains their own contracts.”
But City Councilor Daniel F. Conley, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he was the only councilor to vote against the Quinn Bill in 1998 because a ripple effect was inevitable.
“They ought to be compensated on the same par - the disparity is so wide you can see the firefighters have a legitimate beef with the city,” Conley said.
The Quinn Bill - which provides a raise of 10 percent for an associate’s degree, 20 percent for a bachelor’s degree, and 25 percent for a master’s Degree - is going to cost more in coming years as officers upgrade their degrees and carry their higher base salaries into retirement, Conley said.
Menino has said that police agreed to work changes - performance evaluations and drug testing - to gain Quinn Bill benefits, and that firefighters must agree to changes to get a contract.
About 800 officers obtained degrees after the City Council voted for benefits. Qualifying officers include 486 with associate’s degrees, 362 with bachelor’s and 380 with master’s.
Questions about the quality of police education are being raised.
Twenty percent of all degrees came from Western New England College, while another 17 percent came from Anna Maria College. Another 22 percent of the degrees came from Curry College.
“There is no statewide curriculum framework, or minimum standards, or course requirements, or uniformity of instruction,” said the Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s Samuel Tyler. “The state establishes tougher graduation standards for high school seniors than for police officers.”
Five high-earning captains were reassigned to new jobs this week. Michael Broderick ($211,441) went from Field Services to Administrative Services; Robert Cunningham ($196,802) went from Field Services to District 6; Timothy Murray ($152,879) was transferred from the Commissioner’s Office to District E-5; William Parlon ($179,482) went from District 5 to the Bureau of Professional Development; and Edward Wallace ($174,962) went from the Central Artery Detail to District 4.
Cellucci, longtime captain of District 4 in the South End, recently was promoted to Deputy Superintendent. Capt. William B. Evans ($225,509), brother of Commissioner Paul Evans ($125,900) was considered for the South End post but will remain in Brighton.