Bedford is paying town and school employees more than its neighbor to the north, reflecting the economic inequities between the two communities.

A comparison of the incomes of the top 25 earners among the four local governments using the most recent information shows that Bedford consistently pays higher salaries.

Four public employees in Bedford make $100,000 or more – Town Manager Russ Marcoux, $119,600; School Superintendent Tim Mayes, $117,500; high school Principal George Edwards, $105,232; and Police Chief David Bailey, $101,899.

The only person in Goffstown in this category is Stacy Buckley who was offered $120,000 to serve as the interim school superintendent for the upcoming academic year.

The salaries do not seem excessive to Roy Stewart, president of the Bedford Taxpayers Association.

“We’re supposed to be right in the median throughout the southern part of the state,” Stewart said. “Bedford has always tried to stay in the middle, sort of. Maybe the high-middle, not the top.”

In Goffstown, Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux makes $93,997, topping all other town salaries. The next highest earners are below $90,000. Bedford has two town employees in the $90,000 range: Fire Chief Scott Wiggin, $94,890; and Public Works Director James Stanford, $91,707.

Guy Caron, chairman of the Goffstown Residents Association, said he is not surprised by the discrepancies, citing a higher per capita income in Bedford.

The per capita income in Bedford was $37,730, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. In Goffstown it was $21,907. The total value of all property in Bedford was $3.1 billion in 2007, according to the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. Goffstown had $1.2 billion.

Stewart said the statistics are keeping with longstanding differences between the two towns.

“Goffstown is a blue-collar town,” Stewart said. “It’s a working man’s town. It always has been.”

Bedford, he said, has more executives and other business people.

Buckley appears to be the exception for top Goffstown school employees. As a rule, they make less than those in Bedford. After Buckley, the next two highest earners in the Goffstown schools are high school Principal Frank McBride, $95,156; and middle school Principal James Hunt, $92,588. Two assistant superintendents each earn $92,500.

Bedford schools, on the other hand, have four employees between $95,000 and $100,000 and two principals are in the $90,000 to $95,000 bracket. Bedford School Board Chairman David Sacks said the salaries are appropriate.

“The Bedford school district has fair compensation packages for its employees,” he said. “They are neither the highest nor the lowest. We have been able to attract excellent staff with this approach.”

The income gap persists among lower-level employees. The 25th top town earner in Bedford makes $5,000 more than the 25th town position in Goffstown. The difference between the same positions in the two school systems is nearly $9,000.

Because Bedford has a larger tax base, it can afford higher salaries without hitting taxpayers too hard, Stewart said. The total property tax rate in Bedford in 2007 was $18.99 per $1,000 property valuation, while the comparable Goffstown tax rate was $24.70.

Stewart said lower salaries could put the town at a disadvantage in attracting the most qualified people.

“As a taxpayers association, I am not interested in having people the lowest paid,” Stewart said. “You get what you pay for. I want reasonable and affordable.”

The fact that Marcoux is making a little more than Mayes, however, was an eyebrow-raiser for Stewart, who declined to comment further. In Goffstown, Caron said he is surprised at how much Buckley is earning.

In addition to Goffstown, Buckley is also superintendent for schools in Dunbarton and New Boston. Both of those towns contribute part of her salary. She is responsible for an estimated 3,600 students, according to Keith Allard, chairman of the Goffstown School Board.

In Bedford, Mayes has just one school district, but an expected enrollment of more than 4,300 students next year, according to the SAU office.

Allard said Buckley’s salary is a little below average for superintendents of similar-sized school districts in New Hampshire.

He noted that outgoing Superintendent Darrell Lockwood was paid $128,000 in his final year and received several benefits, such as a car for official business.