ALBANY, New York (WWNY) – Lewis County employees held nine of the North Country\u2019s ten highest-paid local government positions during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The information was released Wednesday by the Empire Center, which describes itself as an Albany-based independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank.<\/p>\n
The highest-paid Lewis County employees are doctors and medical staff.<\/p>\n
Top earners<\/p>\n
The top earner, Jeffery Hellinger, at $265,978, is the CEO of Lewis County Health System.<\/p>\n
His predecessor, Gerald Cayer, at $250,000, is among the top ten. He retired in August.<\/p>\n
The Empire Center considers the North Country to include Lewis, Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties.<\/p>\n
Around the North Country<\/p>\n
It says the North Country\u2019s 8,723 employees averaged $47,999, the lowest of the state\u2019s nine regions outside New York City.<\/p>\n
Local governments in the North Country paid a total of $419 million. Only 5.2 percent of their employees were paid $100,000 or more, the smallest share of any region and compared with about one in five statewide.<\/p>\n
Statewide, the 179,222 employees of New York\u2019s counties, cities, towns and villages outside New York City were paid a total of $12.0 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, an average of $67,037, according to the Empire Center\u2019s annual What They Make 2026 report.<\/p>\n
Among the findings<\/p>\n
Seven Lewis County employees were reported at exactly $250,000, the pension earnings limit for Tier 6 members, so their actual pay was likely higher. Lewis County\u2019s payroll includes physicians and medical staff of the Lewis County Health System.<\/p>\n
Counting the county and all of its towns and villages, Lewis County\u2019s local payrolls came to $2,348 per resident, second only to Hamilton County in the state. <\/p>\n
Jefferson County employees averaged $59,682, the highest of any county in the region.<\/p>\n
Watertown had the largest city payroll, $25.6 million for 466 employees, and spent $1,035 per resident.<\/p>\n
Watertown\u2019s 148 police and fire employees averaged $88,319. <\/p>\n
Among departments with at least 10 employees, the village of Canton\u2019s was the region\u2019s best paid, at $92,953.<\/p>\n
Records for Daniel Moyer appear on the payrolls of 14 towns and one village in St. Lawrence County, for combined pay of $57,402. He is a dog control officer for those municipalities.<\/p>\n
Data access<\/p>\n
The amounts listed do not include fringe benefits such as health insurance and employer pension contributions.<\/p>\n
Payroll records for every North Country county, city, town, village and special district can be searched at the Empire Center\u2019s transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net<\/a>. <\/p>\n