{"id":379284,"date":"2026-10-22T04:38:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T04:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379284\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T04:38:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T04:38:31","slug":"what-they-make-2026-finger-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379284\/","title":{"rendered":"What They Make 2026: Finger Lakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rochester police officers held eight of the ten highest-paid local government positions in the Finger Lakes region during fiscal year 2025-26, according to payroll data submitted to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS)<\/a>. Robert Hill was the region\u2019s highest-paid employee, at $314,040.<\/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<\/a> report. The Finger Lakes region\u2019s 20,526 employees averaged $60,208, fourth among the state\u2019s nine regions outside New York City. Its police and fire personnel averaged $111,906, the third-highest of any region.<\/p>\n

From the full report<\/p>\n

What They Make 2026<\/p>\n

Pay at all 1,517 counties, cities, towns and villages outside New York City, the highest-paid employees statewide, police and correction officer pay, and more.<\/p>\n

Read the full report \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

Local governments in Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties paid a total of $1.24 billion. A total of 15.6 percent of their employees were paid $100,000 or more, compared with about one in five statewide, and 13 were paid more than Governor Hochul\u2019s $250,000 salary.<\/p>\n

Among the findings:<\/p>\n

Ontario County employees averaged $75,199, the highest of any county in the region and eighth in the state, and 22.1 percent were paid $100,000 or more. Monroe County\u2019s 4,944 employees averaged $65,293.
\nThe City of Rochester\u2019s 3,067 employees averaged $85,147, eighth among the state\u2019s 61 cities, and its 1,106 police and fire employees averaged $128,308. Rochester\u2019s payroll came to $1,236 per resident, the fourth-highest of any city in the state.
\nThe Town of Greece had the region\u2019s largest town payroll, $26.8 million for 386 employees. Gates\u2019 town employees averaged $76,116, the highest of any town in the region.
\nThe Town of Gates\u2019 police and fire employees averaged $132,763, the highest in the region, followed by the Village of Brockport ($131,961), the Town of Irondequoit ($130,127), the City of Rochester ($128,308) and the Town of Greece ($127,021). Brockport\u2019s was the best-paid village police department in the state outside Long Island and the Mid-Hudson.
\nFour of the 13 best-paid special districts in the state with at least 10 employees are fire districts in the region. The St. Paul Boulevard Fire District\u2019s 23 employees averaged $131,407, Ridge Road\u2019s 76 averaged $123,952, North Greece\u2019s 60 averaged $114,007 and Gates\u2019 92 averaged $112,442.
\nLocal government payrolls came to $1,011 per resident in the Finger Lakes, the third-highest of any region. Wyoming County spent $1,697 per resident, counting the county and all of its towns and villages, the third-highest of any county in the state.
\nNadia Granger, a Monroe County employee, was paid $275,891, the most of any non-police employee in the region.<\/p>\n

Context: WXXI News reported in February 2026 that Rochester spent $15 million on police overtime in the city\u2019s fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and that 15 officers were paid more than $250,000. Under department policy, senior officers get first choice of special-event overtime.<\/p>\n

Ten Highest-Paid Local Government Employees \u2013 Finger Lakes<\/p>\n

Name
\nEmployer
\nClassification
\nPay<\/p>\n

Hill, Robert B
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$314,040<\/p>\n

Lee, Mark S
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$297,658<\/p>\n

Granger, Nadia A
\nMonroe County
\nGeneral Employee
\n$275,891<\/p>\n

Berg, Karl F
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$275,152<\/p>\n

Mura, Mark S
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$271,748<\/p>\n

Dearcop, Raymond W
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$268,955<\/p>\n

Ward, Stephen J
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$266,962<\/p>\n

Moses, Myron L
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$262,438<\/p>\n

Wigton, Andrew J
\nTown of Irondequoit
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$261,178<\/p>\n

Mazzola, Nicholas J
\nCity of Rochester
\nPolice\/Fire
\n$258,415<\/p>\n

Two employees in the region were reported at exactly $250,000, the pension earnings limit for Tier 6 members, so their actual pay was likely higher. The amounts listed do not include fringe benefits such as health insurance and employer pension contributions.<\/p>\n

Payroll records for every Finger Lakes county, city, town, village and special district can be searched at the Empire Center’s transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net<\/a>. The full statewide report, What They Make 2026<\/a>, includes searchable pay figures for every local government outside New York City.<\/p>\n

The Empire Center is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank based in Albany.<\/p>\n

Source for overtime context: WXXI News, February 2, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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