A quick look at the salaries funded by local tax dollars.

Carrie Jones

Jan 15, 2026

BAR HARBOR—Often when town and school budget discussions happen every year, people wonder about town and school salaries, specifically the top paid employees their tax dollars are funding.

It’s the sort of question that has a lot of nuance. Some people might be paid more than others because of tenure. A teacher who has been in Bar Harbor for thirty years and has a master’s is more likely to earn more money than a brand new teacher just out of college.

And there’s also policy involved. Many town officials, such as in Southwest Harbor and Mount Desert, have spoken during budget meetings about the need to pay well so that employees will stay in the area, work in the area, and not leave. This is also a common discussion point at area school meetings.

In 2024, neighboring Mount Desert did a salary survey with the 2025 goal of bringing some of its salaried employees up to the 95th percentile of the other town’s surveyed.

Belfast, Ellsworth, Lewiston, Portland, South Portland, Waterville, Bar Harbor, Kittery, Ogunquit, Old Orchard, and York responded to Mount Desert’s part-time human resource officer Zach Harris’ query about non-union staff salaries.

During a recent budget meeting, Mount Desert officials spoke about bringing up its dispatch salaries closer to those with the same job in Bar Harbor. At least three of the Mount Desert dispatchers have worked their at least since the early 2010s.

At the request of multiple readers, we’ve asked the Town of Bar Harbor for the top paid employees, supported by tax dollars. To make it a bit more complicated, some (such as the school superintendent and others in the AOS office or staff at Mount Desert Island High School) are funded by more than one town. Those positions all have “superintendent” or “superintendent ofc” in the title.

These numbers for fiscal year 2025-2026 also do not include benefits or overtime pay and are just strictly salaries. Many thanks to the Town of Bar Harbor and its finance office for providing this information.

As you can see, administrators—school superintendent, town manager, school principal and directors of curriculum—top the list.

Within the town government, after the town manager who bears the responsibility for the town staff, the public works director, police chief, finance director, fire chief, and planning director make up the top six paid employees. Many employees have worked in the town for decades. The police chief was hired in 2000. The fire chief was hired in 1995.

Bar Harbor pays for 60% of the wages and benefits for the police chief, a police captain, an administrative assistant for that department and the mental health liaison. Mount Desert pays 40% of the costs for those positions.

Ed techs and cooks for the school are some of the lowest paid town employees. The total salary range depicted is between $178,500 and $25,022. Again, these numbers are for fiscal year 2026.

LINKS TO LEARN MORE

Salary matrixes for teachers, librarians, superintendents in Maine.

MEA salary guide.

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