According to the report, members of the Utica police and fire departments were paid an average $72,428 last year.

Other departments included in the report were New Hartford, with an average salary of $65,751; Amsterdam, $65,159; Johnstown, $64,331; and Rome, $63,250.

While Utica’s police and fire pay is comparable to other similarly sized cities, such as Schenectady and Binghamton, the report shows that downstate departments in Long Island and the Mid-Hudson region pay more than double that amount.

The report’s authors say their findings let taxpayers know how their money is being spent. But officials with the Fiscal Policy Institute – a labor-backed think tank – say such reports often can be misleading by glossing over the complexities that dictate how government employees are paid.

For example, if a department sees a large number of officers collect unused vacation and sick time upon their retirement, those costs can make it appear as if the employees earn more than they do, said Frederick Floss, executive director of the Albany-based institute.

“Some of it also depends on the community, and police officers that maybe work in a large city with a very diverse set of protection issues are going to have different salaries than people working in rural areas,” Floss said. “We have to be careful when making these types of comparisons because you want to use good budgeting techniques and you need to pay people the appropriate salary in order to find people with appropriate skill sets to protect you.”

Part of the payroll disparities across regions also can be linked to the much higher cost of living and housing in downstate communities, as well as the ability of a tax base to fund such police and fire services, Floss explained.

The Utica Police Department sometimes is approached by prospective officers from smaller agencies who are looking for higher pay and better benefits. But police Chief Mark Williams said his department also has lost valuable officers to the even higher-paying New York State Police.

And with Utica’s police department constantly battling budget cuts, stripped manpower and unfilled vacancies, Williams said the department’s average pay of about $72,000 – as listed in the report – does not reflect the necessary overtime costs that build up to cover an increasing workload.

Still, he believes his officers are underpaid.

“In my opinion, my officers should make more, and they deserve every penny they do make,” Williams said.

The Empire Center says the intent of its report was not to draw any conclusions about whether any government employees were being paid too much or not enough.

“I think that’s something that’s up to the individuals in the community to decide, and we want them to have as much information as possible when they make those decisions,” said Ken Girardin, communications manager for the Empire Center.

© 2014 Utica Observer-Dispatch