A Wayne County doctor was the highest-paid local government employee in the Finger Lakes region last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Dr. Harlan Kosson, who county records indicate is paid $130 per hour for psychiatric services, was paid a total of $266,110.

The report uses pay data reported to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. The amounts listed in the report do not include fringe benefits such as health insurance or employer pension contributions, which can add 35 percent or more to the cost for taxpayers.

Users can search the 175,327 pay records of town, city, county and village employees on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The Finger Lakes data also show:

• Ontario County’s 1,076 employees were the highest-paid employees among the region’s counties, averaging $49,822.
• The town of Geneva had the highest-paid general employees. Sixteen people were paid an average of $51,867.

The ten highest-paid local government employees in the Finger Lakes region (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates Counties) were:

The Empire Center is a non-partisan, non-profit independent think tank based in Albany. SeeThroughNY includes payroll and pension data for state and local government employees and retirees; detailed expenditure data for the state Legislature; comparative statistics on local government spending; a searchable database of state revenue and expenditures; and copies of all teacher union contracts and superintendent of schools contracts.