payroll

Highest Paid State Employees in Massachusetts

Every year, Massachusetts spends billions on payroll. With some departments spending significantly more and some employees receiving salaries multiple times their peers', it is important to understand where this money is going.
January 30, 2024

State Overtime Expenditures Jump, Even as Employment Increases

A new analysis of state payroll expenditures reveals a sizable increase in overtime expenditures, even as the state has added nearly 3,000 new employees since the beginning of the pandemic.

Putting in the Extra Hours: The Spike in Mass. Department of Public Health Overtime Pay during COVID-19

During the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) payroll data presented a 29.09% increase in the average employee’s overtime pay from the previous year. Pioneer wanted to dig deeper into the Department’s compensation trends to put the $5M bump in 2020 DPH overtime pay into perspective.
August 8, 2018

Blandford’s Police Resignation Could Shed Light on Underlying Issues

Last week, the Town of Blandford’s police force resigned en masse, leaving the community without local police, and increasing the presence of state police. All four members of the Town of Blandford’s police, including the interim Chief Roberta Sarnacki, resigned last week,...

Troop F Gets an A: State Auditor Overlooks DSP Corruption, Neglects Audits

The Office of the State Auditor’s (OSA’s) website describes our current auditor, Suzanne Bump, as “the chief accountability officer for state government in Massachusetts and its residents.” The OSA’s enabling statute requires the department to audit all 700 departments and organizations of...

Which State Employees Make More than the Boss?

In 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections had 20 employees who were paid more than the commissioner’s salary of $159,645. Among these 20, the median income was $172,491. This highly-paid group accounted for $1.2 million in overtime spending — enough to hire...

Why Did the Department of Corrections Pay a Chef $166,762 last year?

Pioneer Institute’s MassOpenBooks transparency tool shows an employee listed in the Department of Corrections payroll as a “corrections officer/chef” with an income of $166,762 in 2017. His regular pay was $95,051, with $66,991 in overtime and $4,719 paid as “other”. His regular...