Hudson's highest paid town employee is not who you might think. We have a list

HUDSON — Hudson's highest paid municipal employee may well be the highest paid such employee in all of MetroWest.

And no, it's not a public safety worker, town administrator or school superintendent.

Hudson Light & Power General Manager Brian Choquette earned $302,436 in 2023, one of eight employees of the municipal electric company to qualify for the town's 25 highest-paid employees last year.

The Daily News, through a public records request, obtained the list of salaries for every town employee, including schools. Total salaries include base pay, overtime, bonuses and stipends.

Choquette's 2023 salary is a more than $19,000 higher (about 6.8%) than his 2022 pay package.

2022 salaries: Hudson Light & Power employees and police top 25 highest paid employee list: Here's a list

Eight members of the Police Depart ment also made the top 25 for 2023. They include Lt. Michael Vroom, who earned $238,987.50 (an increase of more than $46,000 from 2022), and Police Chief Richard DiPersio, who made $194,363.49, up more than $28,000 from the previous year.

Four members of the Fire Dep artm ent also made the top 25, including retired Chief Bryan Johannes, who earned $174,950.48, and fire Lt. Brian Harrington, who took home $170,882.44.

Executive Assistant Thomas Gregory earned $184,769.90 last year, while Department of Public Works Director Eric Ryder made $147,330.91.

Rounding out the top 25 list were three school employees, including Director of Finance and Operations Daniel Gale, the School Department's highest-paid employee at $149,027.60.

Searchable database: Hudson town and school employees total pay

Hudson's highest-paid employees (total pay)

1. Hudson Light & Power General Manager Brian Choquette, $302,436.00
2. Police Lt. Michael Vroom, $238,987.50
3. Police Chief Richard DiPersio, $194,363.49
4. Police Sgt. John Yates, $193,572.96
5. Hudson Light & Power Principal Engineer Xiaofeng Yan, $187,959.20
6. Executive Assistant Thomas Gregory, $184,769.90
7. Police Sgt. Jesse Hayden, $184,281.92
8. Hudson Light & Power lineman Douglas Farrar, $178,084.63
9. Fire Chief Bryan Johannes (now retired), $174,950.48
10. Fire Lt. Brian Harrington, $170,882.44
11. Hudson Light & Power linesman Richard Constantine Jr., $164,972.85
12. Hudson Light & Power linesman Jonathan W. Gould, $161,380.30
13. Hudson Light & Power linesman Jason Valera, $160,257.25
14. Hudson Light & Power Lineman Supervisor Derek Scott, $158,020.20
15. Fire Lt. Marc Exarhopoulos, $152,209.49
16. Deputy Fire Chief Brian Sleeper, $152,026.61
17. Hudson Public Schools Director of Finance and Operations Daniel Gale, $149,027.60
18. Department of Public Works Director Eric Ryder, $147,330.91
19. Police Sgt. Samuel Leandres, $147,005.12
20. Hudson Light & Power linesman Andrew McCarthy, $145,903.98
21. Police Lt. Roger Downing, $145,833.84
22. Hudson Public Schools Director of Pupil Services Catherine Kilcoyne, $145,396.60
23. Hudson High School Principal Jason Medeiros, $144,254.24
24. Police Sgt. Chad Perry, $140,354.12
25. Police Lt. Thomas Crippen, $139,282.58

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hudson's highest paid town employee is not who you might think. We have a list