Top City of Rochester employees made over $200G in salary and benefits in 2025

ROCHESTER - Several Rochester police officers and firefighters in 2025 made as much in overtime as many Rochester residents get paid in annual salary at their full-time jobs, according to numbers released from the city's payroll spreadsheet and the most recent census data.
The top 10 employees in total wages and benefits for last year include City Manager Katie Ambrose at 245,101, Police Chief Gary Boudreau at $225,293, Polce Sgt. Nicole Knox at $215,659, Dept Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Conley at $203,395, Fire Capt. Steven Plante $202,941, Fire Chief Michael George at $202,437, Fie Captain Eric Lenzi at $201,114, Director of City Services Peter Nourse at $194,449, Fire Capt. Devon Pageau at $193,417 and Director of Finance Mark Sullivan at $190,702.
Nearly all of the highest annual overtimes wages paid in the $35,000-$50,000 range were to police and fire personnel, with the high of $55,000 paid to a Rochester patrol officer.
Recent census data reveals that the average Rochester resident per capita income is about $40,000.
Chief Boudreau said today that while they do all they can to curtail overtime, there are a number of reasons why it is sometimes unavoidable, especially when it comes to staffing each and every shift 24/7.
"Not only do we have to make sure each shift is fully staffed, but we often have followup investigations that have to get done in a timely manner and court time (for prosecutions)," he said. "There are always these costs when you're staffing an agency."
Boudreau also said that patrol staff remains down by five slots, but most of those positions will be filled as soon as new recruits complete either academy or field training.
The Rochester Voice also reached out to the city's finance director Mark Sullivan regarding total number of city workers and cumulative taxpayer outlay to cover employee salaries and benefits.
If we hear back, this story will be updated.

To see a spreadsheet with all city employees' salaries click here