By Linda Cicoira — Five of the top senior Northampton County administrators and constitutional officers are paid more than $100,000 a year, according to figures obtained last week by the Eastern Shore Post.
The top moneymaker is Commonwealth’s Attorney Beverly Leatherbury. She is paid a salary of $128,074 for doing the job of prosecutor, an elected post, and another $31,511 to serve as county attorney, a position that is appointed by the Northampton County Board of Supervisors. In total, her salary is $159,585, which also makes her the highest-paid county employee in both Northampton and Accomack counties.
Last year Leatherbury made $30,593 as county attorney and $124,344 as commonwealth’s attorney for a total of $154,937. The total was $4,648 lower than this year’s joint salary. The prosecutor is elected every four years.
The total calculations do not include school workers or the private sector. The figures do not include benefits. The numbers are rounded off to the nearest dollar.
Northampton gets an A+ for transparency as it named all county workers, their job titles, and their salaries in the information disclosed. In Accomack, recent figures were given only for directors and elected officials. Average salary numbers were received for the others in Accomack. Northampton also included the Department of Social Services and members of the board of supervisors in its figures.
The lowest salaries go to the five members of the board of supervisors and remained the same. Chairman Spencer Murray is paid $5,300 annually. He is selected by the board to serve as chairman. Supervisors Oliver Bennett, Robert Duer, John Coker, and David Fauber are paid $5,000. All are elected every four years.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton III was paid $76,547 last year. This year his salary is $78,843. The other office worker made $38,047 last year. This year her salary is $39,188.
County Administrator Charles Kolakowski is the second-highest-paid county worker with a salary of $113,300. Last year his salary was $108,171, or $5,129 less. Deputy County Administrator Janice Williams is paid $77,156. Last year, her salary was $74,909, or $2,247 less.
Clerk of the Northampton County Circuit Court Traci Johnson is paid $107,846. Last year her salary was $104,704, or $3,142 less. A clerk is elected every eight years. Last year the salaries for three workers in her office ranged from $31,511 to $33,709. This year, they range from $32,457 to $34,721.
John Chandler, director of finance, was listed as being paid $100,855. Last year, he was paid $92,820. His two workers receive an average salary of $43,791. They were paid an average of $42,515 last year. Also under his department is Human Resources Manager Sharitah Goodwyn. Her salary last year was $43,560 last year. This year she will make $49,862, or $6,302 more.
Sheriff David Doughty, whose responsibilities include overseeing communications, courthouse security, law enforcement, criminal investigations, traffic, and the Eastern Shore Regional Jail is paid $100,229. That is up by $2,919 from last year when he earned $97,310. A sheriff is elected every four years.
Doughty has 94 employees. Their salaries range from $17,707 for a part-time deputy to $68,210 for Capt. Michael Smith, who made $66,224 last year. There are five vacancies.
Director of Emergency Medical Services Hollye Carpenter was paid $68,898 last year. Her salary is set to go up to $70,965 this year. She oversees 27 workers whose salaries range from a part-time EMT at $19,531 to a division chief at $49,692. Last year, there were 24 full-time employees with salaries ranging from $26,955 to $45,736.
There are two vacant paramedic jobs in her team. Both are for Exmore and the salary for each is set for $39,341.
Mark Heneghan, director of Information Technology, was paid $79,255 in the last fiscal year. His salary was set at $81,633 this year, a difference of $2,378. Last year, his worker was paid $45,370 and there was a vacant position. This year, the average pay for the two is $44,481.
Director of Planning, Permitting and Enforcement Susan McGhee will be paid $95,414 this year compared to $92,635 last year, an increase of $2,779. The salaries in her department range from $69,505 for Building Official John Outten to $40,291 for a code compliance worker.
Charlene Gray, the Commissioner of the Revenue, will be paid $77,404 compared to $75,150 last year. Gray has two workers who make an average of $24,640. Last year the average was $29,846. The workers are not the same people this year. A commissioner is elected every four years.
Todd Simpson, the county’s reassessment appraiser, will make $59,106 this year compared to $57,385 last year. His office assistant, Bonny Lewis, was paid $44,286 last year and will get $45,614 this year.
Treasurer Cynthia Bradford was paid $75,149 last year or $2,254 less than this year. There is a vacancy in her office. The two other workers make on average $38,460. Last year the average for the three was $33,539. A treasurer is elected every four years.
Voter Registrar Terrence Flynn will make $53,064 this year compared to $51,518 last year, a difference of $1,546. His assistant made $26,488 last year. This year, she is scheduled to make $27,282.
Victim Witness Program worker Jo Ann Molera was paid $34,844 last year compared to $35,931 this year, an increase of $1,087.
Director of Public Works Chris Thomas has a salary of $68,450, compared to $66,457 last year, an increase of $1,993. Assistant Director of Public Works Jeff Doughty will make $47,258 this year compared to $45,881. There are eleven other workers in the facilities management and public utility departments. Their salaries ranged from $16,522 to $28,506 this year and from $16,045 to $30,430 last year.
Director of the Landfill Ronald Rowe makes $74,420, an increase of $2,168 over last year. He has five employees whose salaries range from $12,233 for a waste collection attendant to $33,434 for a landfill laborer. Last year the range was $10,914 to $32,460.
Parks and Recreation director Laura Jenrette will make $42,244 this year compared to $41,014 last year. Her assistant makes $25,767 this year. Her salary was $25,540 last year.
The Northampton County Social Services Department was also on the list. The highest-paid worker there was Mozella Francis at $97,779. She is listed as a Director II and was paid $94.931 last year. Salaries in that department range from $30,011 to $67,897.
