TROY -- The city paid more than $2.5 million in salaries to its top 25 wage earners in 2010 as overtime boosted many paychecks, according to city payroll records released Friday.

Click here to see the top earners.

Mayor Harry Tutunjian's salary of $94,636.10 wasn't enough to crack the ranks of the city's best paid employees. It took at least $101,632.76 to make the list which had a top salary of $133,071.58.

All 25 came from either the police or fire departments, according to city records. Police officers accounted for 18 of the 25, while firefighters made up the remaining seven.

When it came to making overtime in 2010, the pay for the top 25 overtime earners ranged from a low of $22,428.15 to a high of $43,652.77. These high overtime recipients included 13 police officers, 11 firefighters and one public works employee.

The top overtime and wage lists were released in response to a Freedom of Information Law request submitted by the Times Union.

Fire Chief Thomas Garrett was the city's highest paid employee at $133,071.58. Garrett received $30,936.24 in overtime, with the rest of his pay coming from his basic salary of $93.327 plus other contractual payments.

Police Chief John Tedesco came in third at $126,456.82, which included a base salary of $111,491, plus other payments. Some command level officers in the police department are excluded from receiving overtime while those in the fire department are not.

Sgt. Ronald Epstein, who is assigned to the detective bureau, earned the most overtime for the second year in a row, but saw the amount drop by 36 percent. Epstein's overtime was $43,652.77 in 2010 compared to $67,999.99 in 2009.

The city saw 97 of its 708 employees take home $10,000 or more in overtime in 2010, according to the records.

"Eighty-five percent of our budget is obligated to things like debt, pensions, and health care, leaving very little room for voluntarily reductions but overtime pay is one cost I've instructed my department heads to control as much as possible despite the council majority's increase in funding for it," Tutunjian said.

City Council President Clement Campana said the city should control overtime costs to lower the burden on taxpayers.

More Information Troy's biggest paychecks of 2010 FIVE HIGHEST PAID TROY EMPLOYEES NAMESALARYTITLE Thomas Garrett$133,071Fire Chief Robert Schlesinger$132,927Assistant Fire Chief John Tedesco$126,457Police Chief Richard McAvoy Jr.$120,394Deputy Police Chief Richard Sprague$118,370Police Captain FIVE HIGHEST OVERTIME EARNERS NAMEOVERTIMETITLE Ronald Epstein$43,653Police Sergeant Joseph R. House$39,852Police Officer Colleen Goldston$38,733Police Officer Mark Millington$38,640Police Officer James Bottillo$37,768Police Officer To see the complete list of the city's 2010 top earners and overtime recipients, go online to the Troy blog at http://blog.timesunion.com/troy. Source: City of Troy See More Collapse

"It's imperative that we try to reduce overtime as much as we can," Campana said.

Tutunjian gave Tedesco a mandate to cut overtime in the department when he took over the police department's top post last year.

While police officers remain the highest overtime recipients, the amounts paid have dropped by about 15 percent in many cases.

The issue of overtime payments has become both a legal and political issue in the city.

Currently, 16 police officers have sued the city in U.S. District Court in Albany for non-payment of overtime for a week in November.

The Democrat-controlled City Council increased the police overtime budget for 2011 by $100,000 in response to higher crime rates. This was done over objections from Tutunjian, a Republican.

"I applaud the police chief's effort to keep overtime down, but we shouldn't compromise public safety," Campana said.

Troy's top salaries were paid to members of the police and fire departments.

FIVE HIGHEST PAID TROY EMPLOYEES

NAME SALARY TITLE

Thomas Garrett $133,07.58 Fire Chief

Robert Schlesinger $132,927.23 Assistant Fire Chief

John Tedesco $126,456.82 Police Chief

Richard McAvoy Jr. $120,393.86 Deputy Police Chief

Richard Sprague $118,369.58 Police Captain

FIVE HIGHEST OVERTIME EARNERS

NAME OVERTIME TITLE

Ronald Epstein $43,652.77 Police Sgt.

Joseph R. House $39,851.63 Police Officer

Colleen Goldston $38,7333.93 Police Officer

Mark Millington $38,639.55 Police Officer

James Bottillo $37,768.41 Police Officer

To see the lists of the city's 2010 top earners and overtime recipients, go online to the

Troy blog.

Source: City of Troy

Reach Kenneth C. Crowe II at 454-5084 or at kcrowe@timesunion.com.