Ruais: Spent more than Craig

MANCHESTER, NH June 12, 2025–Following the implementation of a new compensation and classification study by the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Girard at Large obtained employee payroll records showing how much every employee who worked for the city in 2024 was paid.  Several elected officials, led by Mayor Jay Ruais, claimed the implementation of the new system was necessary to make Manchester more “competitive” with other public sector employers, citing how it’s struggled to fill vacant positions in multiple departments.

Ruais, who complained that former Mayor Joyce Craig left him with a $6.5 million “hole” in the budget caused by contractually required pay raises, added more than $7 million in his proposed budget to implement the new system.  That did not include the cost of adding the city’s two police unions whose contracts expire next year, meaning the total implementation cost will likely approach $9 million.

The new classification and compensation plan was introduced by HR Director Lisa Drabik last fall.  In her presentation, she shared that Evergreen, the Florida based consultant that conducted the study, had devised three potential courses of action that would bring Manchester’s public employee pay in line with other communities, including several larger and wealthier communities in Massachusetts.  One option was minimalist and not recommended.  Another was designed to bring the city to the top of the scale.  The one Ruais included in his budget appears to be the middle ground one.

After the study was presented, it disappeared from public view.  It has since been disclosed that, rather than go through an open process where the merits of each approach could be debated and discussed by and with the public, the BMA had those discussions in non-pubic session under the guise of negotiating contracts.  The last personnel classification and compensation plan, known as Yager Decker, was discussed and adopted in public by the BMA before negotiations commenced with the city’s employee unions.

Craig: Spent less than Ruais

Ruais’ inclusion of the money in his budget came before it was disclosed to the public that negotiations to implement the new system were underway.  Once the city had concluded negotiations, the tentative agreements with the unions were put somewhere on the city’s Web site about a week before they were placed on the BMA’s May 20 meeting agenda.  Following inquiries from Girard at Large about how the contracts could be adopted if they conflicted with the existing personnel ordinances, city officials drafted broad language that enabled the changes without the need to specifically adopt the new classification system.

The BMA suspended its rules requiring contracts and ordinances to “lay over” until the next meeting for public inspection prior to adoption, to approve the contracts and ordinance changes at its May 20 meeting.

Because allegedly inadequate pay was the rational not just for implemeting the study’s recommendations but also voiding the rules to adopt the contracts and ordinances that implemented it, we publish the city’s 2024 payroll.  As you consider this information, please consider the following:

  • This accounts for every salary or wage dollar paid to city employees in 2024.  It does not include school district employees.
  • It includes overtime and extra detail pay for police and fire.
  • It does not include employee start or termination dates.

  • Aldenberg: The Money Man

    It incluldes severance pay outs for retirees.

    • For example, Police Chief Allen Aldenberg, who retired effective November 29, 2024, had an annual salary of $181,562.  Despite this, his 2024 pay was just under $271,000.  According the HR Director Lisa Drabik, Aldenberg received severace pay covering 400 unused vacation hours and 960 unused sick time hours, totaling about $90,000.

Below, we have linked to three documents:  One that shows the highest to the lowest paid employees; one that shows pay by department; one that lists employees alphabetically by last name.

According to the figures, 387 city employees, more than 1 in 4 earned more than $100,000 in 2024.  Of that number, 113 firefighters and 181 police officers made over $100,000.  Forty-eight police officers and 23 firefighters earned at least $150,000.  Six police officers and two firefighters made over $200,000, including Aldenberg.

The number of employees earning over $100,000 has grown by 55% since Girard at Large last published employee salaries in 2021.

Click here for the list of highest to lowest paid employees.

Click here for the list of employees by department.

Click here for the list alphabetic list of employees by last name.