Top 25 earners in East Hartford listed
Topped by veteran officer who made $161,456 in overtime
A list of the 25 highest paid East Hartford municipal employees in the last fiscal year includes 15 police officers and seven fire department personnel who in most cases boosted their earnings with overtime necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The list, which does not include school employees — as they are contained in separate data — was provided swiftly and free of charge by East Hartford in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Courant. The numbers are rounded to the nearest dollar.
The top earner in gross wages was police patrol officer John Zavalick, who earned $247,642. Zavalick had a base pay of $86,086 and also earned $161,456 in overtime, data show.
Mayor Michael P. Walsh said Zavalick, a 30-year veteran, has since retired and moved to another police department.
Veteran police Sgt. Ian Allison made the list at No. 25 because of a settlement the town had to pay him following a labor dispute.
Allison was dismissed Feb. 3, 2021 for allegedly trying to inflate hours for another officer’s private duty job, but was reinstated by a State Labor Board panel that found there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations.
Allison earned $38,893 in wages, but also got an employee settlement related to the case of $115,903, bringing his total up to $154,797, data show.
Of the 15 police officers on the list, five of them earned more in overtime than their base pay — but no one near as much as Zavalick.
“There are shocking numbers in some cases, but it represents a
cost the town paid to keep the community staffing,” at a safe level and within contract requirements, Walsh said.
Walsh said East Hartford doesn’t face as much of a hiring/staffing crisis as many other municipalities in Connecticut do, because they still offer a pension.
But COVID cases among police officers and firefighters last year presented a challenge and required finding replacements for those sick or in quarantine.
“Both the police and fire labor contracts have minimum staffing provisions in them to ensure employee safety,” as well as public safety, Walsh said.
The police contract also requires no fewer than eight patrolofficersonthestreetand the fire department 26 firefighters on a shift, Walsh said.
A large portion of the overtime numbers are comprised of “extra duty” pay that is paid by outside sources, rather than out of city coffers, Walsh said. But payroll doesn’t separate the numbers, Walsh said.
Police Chief Scott Sansom said he’s “glad” so many officers in the department are willing to work overtime, as many departments are grappling with having to order people in to cover shifts, as there has been a shift in philosophy among officers.
He said generally police departments are finding the younger generation officers are less willing to work overtime because they are concerned with “family” and “quality of life.”
“I’m glad the officers are working this overtime on a voluntary basis,” he said. Sansom said that while they are down several officers because of attrition, they are better off than many departments in Connecticut.
Another earnings category that boosted some salaries were contractual retirement payouts, which include sick days, compensatory time, and unused vacation time.
In addition to Zavalick and Allison, the top municipal wager-earners, from highest to lowest, according to town data, were:
Police Lt. Steven Camp who earned $211, 672, with $103,108 in base pay and $108,564 in overtime,
Finance Director Linda
Trzetziak earned $210, 287, with a base pay of $101,517 and a retirement payout of $108,770.
Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Flor earned $191,781, with a base pay of $108,210, overtime of $30, 344 and a payout of $53,226.
Fire Lt. David Noyes earned $189, 713, a base pay of $95,709, overtime of $50,061 and a payout of $43, 941.
Police Lt. Michael Demaine earned $188, 059, with a base pay of $106, 078 and overtime of $81,981.
Police Lt. Paulo Nievesearned $183,483, with a base pay of $105,891 and $77,591 in overtime
Deputy Fire Chief Richard Littell earned $175,499, with a base pay of $108,844, overtime of $23, 884 and a payout of $42,770.
Police Lt. Daniel Caruso earned $175,421, with a base pay of $98,303. and $77,118 in overtime.
Police Lt. John Dupont earned $174, 959 with a base pay of $105,489 and $69, 470 in overtime.
Fire Lt. Jeffrey Demarest earned$173,826withabasepay of $91,608, overtime of $37,362 andapayoutof$44,855.
Patrol officer Krzysztof
Gorynski earned $173,649, with a base pay of $86,608 and overtime of $87,041.
Fire Lt. Ronald Krystofik earned $172,964, including $93,028 base pay, $29,402 in overtime and a payout of $51, 534.
Chief Sansom earned $167,826.
Police Lt. Joseph Ficacelli earned $167,636, with a base pay of $105,324 and overtime of $62,312.
Fire Capt. Richard Leach earned $165,853 with a base pay of $95,709 and $70, 144 in overtime.
Patrol officer Jason Cohen earned $164,752 with a base pay of $86,986 and overtime of $77,765.
Patrol officer Eric Apronti earned $162,064, including a base salary of $78,869 and overtime of $83,195.
Director of Public Works John Lawlor earned $181,850, with a base pay of $143,465, no overtime and $18,385 in payouts.
Patrol officer Juan Rivera, earned $160, 132 with a base pay of $84,846 and $75,285 in overtime.
Assistant Fire chief James Silver, earned $160,100, with a base pay of $122,314, and overtime of $37,791.
Parks project coordinator and maintenance supervisor Daniel Brimley earned $159, 924, with a base pay of $83,584, overtime of $21,073 and a payout of $55,266.
Patrol officer Michael Weglarz earned $158,300, including his base pay of $84,927 and overtime of $73,372.
Patrol officer Jerry Cao earned $156,479, with a base pay of $74,103 and overtime of $82,376.