By contract, Timothy Bassett's minimum salary must be the average of the salaries of the two highest-paid town managers or administrators among the Essex Regional Retirement Board's members. Historically, that has been the town managers in Ipswich and North Andover, the two largest communities in the system.
Here's how the jobs — and salaries — stack up.
Mark Rees
Town manager
Town of North Andover
Size of community: 29,000
Annual budget: $75 million
Salary: $129,250
Bob Markel
Town manager
Town of Ipswich
Size of community: 15,000
Annual budget: $60 million*
Salary: $120,000
* Includes budget for the Electric Light Department, over which Markel has control
Timothy Bassett
Executive director
Essex Regional Retirement Board
Size of community: 5,000*
Annual budget: $1.3 million
Salary: $134,250
* active and retired members of retirement system
