Here are the top 10 highest-paid local government workers in Western New York

$265,853. That's how much money the highest-paid local government worker in Western New York made last year.

The Empire Center released the 2023 edition of its annual public payroll report 'What They Make' on Thursday.

The information in the report is based on data submitted each year to the New York State and Local Retirement System. The Empire Center says job titles are usually not included in the submitted data.

In the report, you can break down the highest-paid local workers by region.

Here are the top 10 highest-paid local government employees in Western New York:

1. Tara Mahar (Erie County Chief Medical Examiner): $265,853
2. Scott Blesy (Buffalo Police Captain): $264,665
3. Mark Cyrek (Buffalo Police): $258,907
4. Gale Burstein (Erie County Health Commissioner): $255,839
5. John Greenan (Erie County Sheriff's Office): $252,041
6. Cesar Botello (Erie County Sheriff's Office): $248,351
7. Katherine Maloney (Erie County Medical Examiner): $247,632
8. Timothy Donovan (Erie County Sheriff's Office): $246,888
9. Timothy Carney (Erie County Sheriff's Office): $246,006
10. Scott Malec (Buffalo Police): $244,952

EMPIRE CENTER

Here are some of the other highlights from the report:

• More than 1,100 local employees across New York were paid more than Governor Kathy Hochul's $250,000 salary.
• New York's highest-paid local government worker was a police officer in Westchester County who made $415,750.
• 91 of the state's 100 highest-paid local government employees were police officers.

The report didn't include state employees or figures from New York City.
Individual public employee payroll records can be found at the Empire Center's transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net.