I-Team: Six-figure salaries

(WWLP) - In a tight economy some Western Massachusetts city or town workers are cashing in six-figure salaries.  

The 22News I-Team has obtained payroll records for dozens of cities and towns across Western Massachusetts.  We discovered some people have found ways to close to double their base salaries.  

Six figure paychecks.  More common than you might think in our local cities and towns.  The 22News I-Team obtained the 2012 payroll records for more than 60 cities and towns in Western Massachusetts.  What sticks out in this investigation is the amount of money some police officers are making after their 40 hour work week.

The I-Team discovered in Holyoke like several other cities and towns in Western Massachusetts.  The Police chief isn't the Highest paid police officer.

"The Holyoke police department does an outstanding job, but the question at some point has go to be what's fair compensation?". says Kevin Jourdain.

Kevin Jourdain is Holyoke's City Council President.  Holyoke's Police Chief and Mayor both declined to talk about this story.  Chicopee Police Chief Thomas Charette didn't shy away from the topic.  

(You have a patrolman that makes more money than the chief.  how does that happen and is it legitimate?)

"It is legitimate because he's working 40 hours a week on average additional besides his regular hours", says Chief Charette.

Two patrolman in Chicopee make more than $50,000 in overtime and detail work.  Bumping their salaries into top ten in the city.   Chief Charette told the 22News I-Team most of that money is collected through detail work. It isn't paid out of the Police budget.

"Our police department is well below most in the state for actual overtime, shift overtime", says Chief Charette.

Holyoke has seven police officers who make more than the chief.  The highest paid person in Holyoke is a police captain who makes just shy of $180,000.   

Aside from Springfield, Holyoke has the most expensive police force in Western Massachusetts according to the Department of Revenue.

A city of less than 40,000 people spends $11 Million on its police department.  Westfield has 2000 more people than Holyoke and it spends close to 5 million dollars less on police. Chicopee, which has 15,000 more people spends 9.2 Million on police.

"I think the taxpayers have a right to see what's fair and what's exorbitant", says Jourdain.