Waltham City Employee Salaries: Who Made The Most in 2020

WALTHAM, MA — The police dominated the list of highest paid city employees in 2020, city data show. Some 57 percent of the top 100 earners came from the Police Department, followed by the Fire Department and City Hall employees and then school employees.

Only about eight city employees earned more than $200,000 in 2020, the same as in 2019. In 2018 there were 12 and in 2017 there were five, according to city data obtained by Patch.

The chief of police, Keith MacPherson, who has worked for the city since 1980, went home with the second highest pay check and also the highest base salary of the year at $228,937.4, slightly down from the $233,641.07 he made the year before.

The highest pay check went to a lieutenant named Michael Moriarty hired in 2017. Moriarty went home with $234,310.11, which includes bonuses and state incentives in addition to his base salary, which was $148,707.

George Frost, who slid into the role of interim superintendent in 2019, earned $142,485. While he was the highest paid school department employee last year, Paul Maiorano, interim principal of the high school, earned $172,589, making him the highest paid school department employee for the year. Superintendent Brian Reagan started as superintendent this summer and was not listed. Patch has reached out to the clerk's office to clarify and will update.

What about the women you ask? With a woman at the city's helm, that's a good question.

No woman, not even the mayor, made the top 24 highest gross paid slots in Waltham last year.

The only woman to crack the top 10 highest base salary was Leanne Wilcinski, a school business manager for the superintendent's office. She had a base salary of $168,389, But she landed at No. 25 when it came to gross pay, which was the same.

Wilcinski began working for the city in 1987, where she worked in the City Auditor's Office until transferring to School Business Administrator in 2006.

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy rose to the 53rd highest paid person, the third woman on the list with her gross salary of $148,931.29, some $1,878 higher than the year before.

If you're wondering about the city councilors? The highest paid city councilor is the Council President Paul Brasco at $23,550 up $799 from 2019. No other city councilors were on the list, but made $21,951 in 2019. Patch has reached out to the city for clarification.

In 2019, 11 of the top 100 highest paid employees were women. For calendar year 2020, that number rose to 12. Some 66 women earned more than $100,000. There were 724 women on the payroll calendar year 2020.

City employees who had the highest salaries, not including overtime or detail work:

City employees who earned the most (see Total Gross):

Previously:

• Waltham City Employee Salaries: Who Made The Most in 2019
• Waltham City Employee Salaries: Who Made The Most in 2018
• Waltham City Employee Salaries: Who Made The Most in 2017
• Waltham Mayor Among Highest Salaries in Boston Area

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).