WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

Hits: 0

 

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. December 29, 2008: The Common Council gave their blessing to a historic change in White Plains Department of Public Safety Work Rules Monday evening, agreeing to implement 12-Hour Patrol Tours for 72 Police patrol force and 24-hour tours of duty for fire fighters. The work rule changes are expected to save about $60,000 outright in overtime for police and firefighters combined based on the unions giving up being paid overtime for the time they spend being trained. 

Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Daniel Jackson,(head of conference table), and Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety John Cullom, (seated left) assuring the Common Council of the sources of savings in overtime on the new work rules Monday evening. White Plains Firefighters fill the entrance to the chamber, observing the action.

The measure will be in effect for a one year experimental period beginning January 1, 2009.  The Mayor secured the Council agreement to put the work rule changes for both departments on the agenda for the January 5 Common Council meeting.

The pay rate of the new police and fire contracts is the only sticking point being negotiated.  Paul Wood, City Executive Officer, (above behind Mayor Joseph Delfino),  said the unions and the city are far apart on hammering out the wage terms of the contract at this time.

Technically, the unions and the city have until June 30 to negotiate the wage portion of the contract. Originally, the contract rejected the pay increases  December 18 after the raises were presented to them in Executive Session four weeks previously, at which time they did not object strenuously to a schedule that called for raises of 3.75%, 4% and 4%. Pundits, observers of the political scene, have wondered since that time why the council would let a contract come to a vote they did not agree with in the first place.

 The Common Council in a surprise move two weeks ago  surprised the police and fire unions by rejecting the contracts, 5-2, when they met  at a Special Meeting to approve the negotiated contracts calling for 3.75%, 4% and 4% raises across the board for both police and fire. The five Council members voting down the contract ( Benjamin Boykin, Milagros Lecuona, Rita Malmud, Dennis Power and Thomas Roach)  rejected the pay schedule for the first year of the contract due to a sudden concern they had developed  on the amount of the first year increase due to the economic conditions.  

Councilman Glen Hockley and Mayor Delfino voted to approve the contract. This concern on the part of the other five developed over the four weeks between when they essentially agreed to the contracts during executive session (including the work rules given the council apparent approval Monday evening), and the date they rejected the contract December 18.

With Mr. Roach attending via speakerphone, Ms. Malmud, Mr. Boykin, Ms. Lecuona, and Mr. Power attending Monday evening night  (Councilman Glen Hockley was not in attendance), the council asked a few more questions about the work hours segment of the agreement, which they could have asked during the Executive Session when the tentative contracts were first presented two months ago. The meeting lasted about 35 minutes with about 20 White Plains firefighters looking over the Councilpersons’ shoulders.

 

The Mayor pointed out that the 24 hour Tour the firefighters had agreed to was the standard for 73% of fire departments across the country. In addition, he pointed out the police and fire unions willingness to give up overtime pay for training, was worth “10s of thousands of dollars to the city.”

Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Daniel Jackson, (right above) speaking for Commissioner Dr. Frank Straub (who is on vacation this week), said currently the Department has to pay 24 hours overtime to firefighters and police who are undergoing special training (citing Weapons of Mass Destruction training held in Alabama by the Department of Homeland Security).

The fire and police unions have consented to waive that overtime, he said as part of the new work rules.  This saving in training overtime alone would save $20,000 to $30,000 in overtime and allow more firefighters to be sent out for training, Jackson said. Jackson said the firefighters had agreed to give 20 hours back which created the saving in the training piece.

Jackson said the new rules for both firefighters and police will be in effect for one year, and if issues come up they will be discussed, and ironed out and that either side could opt out with 60 days notice. He said in remarks that the department and the unions have a close relationship and issues would be addressed as they came up in the one year implementation of the new 12 and 24 hour tours. The schedules if approved January 5 are in the process of being developed over the next week.

 Asked by Councilman Dennis Power if the arithmetic worked, Mayor Delfino said “I wouldn’t be sitting here now if I didn’t think it was. I applaud the administration of public safety. It is a great concession (on the part of the unions).”

Councilperson Rita Malmud asked about where the overtime savings came about in the 12-hour police patrol tours and the 24-hour fire tours.

Commissioner Jackson said that there was one less shift change (going to two shift changes a day with the police), rather than 3 which created he said, a 50% saving, but not having to pay overtime at the change of a shift.  Currently police patrols are on 8 hours, he pointed out, and by shifting to 12-hour tours for patrol only, the department eliminates one whole shift.

The second savings in overtime comes with the firefighters and police waiving the overtime for training sessions out of the district.

Councilman Benjamin Boykin asked what if firefighters got sick across the 24-hour period they were on duty. Jackson said the fire department would fill in with staff to replace the men rather than call in on overtime, and further fallback position would be that a piece of equipment would not be activated if the department did not have the men to man it. Jackson said the fire department contract does not require mandatory overtime so the department is able to cover shifts with staff when firefighters are unable to report.

Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety John Cullom said the department with the overtime concession by the fire union meant the department could train more men for less money.

Cullom, asked by Councilperson Lecuona if any fire departments had eliminated the 24 hour shift after switching to, said he has never heard of a department that went to 24-hour shifts and went back to shorter shifts.

Tom Roach, speaking by phone said he saw “no downside” to the agreement if it would “help employees,” and said if it  (the 12 and 24 hour tours) would be “good for morale, I’m all for it.”

Straub Prototype Paved Way

Paul Wood explained to WPCNR that the police 12-hour tours would involve only the patrol force. He said the police at Dr. Frank Straub’s suggestion had already run a prototype 12-hour shift for patrols two years ago, and based on that experience and the overtime savings Straub saw, the Department worked out the 12-hour shift with the PBA. 

Wood said computer models had been made comparing overtime with regular 8 hour patrols compared to the experimental 12 hour shifts showing significant savings (in addition to the $20,000 to $30,000 in training overtime savings). Asked if the Department of Public Safety would make those studies public after the contract  was approved (on the hour shifts), Wood said he might.

Hits: 0

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. December 29, 2008: At a Special Meeting this evening called Friday by city hall, the Common Council will hear the Commissioner ofPublic Safety discuss the advantages to the police and fire departments of the proposed new shifts in the Police and Fire contracts now under consideration. The meeting takes place at City Hall at 5:30 P.M.

 

WPCNR in checking on the 12-hour shift situation for police around the country in a random, but by no

means exhaustive internet check, found that, according to a survey of 300 police departments with

over 50 sworn members made by The Police Foundation in November of 2005,  the most-employed

shift length was the 8-hour shift with 40%. Larger agencies (101 to 200 members) employed the 10-

hour shift  with the 8-hour shift used as often (32%) as the 10-hour shift. The 12-hour shift was “most

likely to be implemented in smaller agencies (under 100 officers, more than 50 officers).

 

 

 

A total of 28.5% of smaller agencies surveyed adopted 12-hour schedules. Only 19.5% of the mid-

sized (101 to 200 officers) and 15% of departments surveyed with over 200 officers had adopted the

12-hour  shifts.  The survey found 8-hour shifts are most common across all agency types. In the survey

of 287 departments, 58.5% were smaller departments (50 and 100 sworn officers); 28.6% were from

mid-sized (101 TO 200 sworn officers).. and 14% were large agencies (201 sworn members or more).

 

According to an article published this fall by the Police Officers Association of Michigan, 12-hour shifts

with adequate gaps in rotations from nights to days, do not result in fatigue factor at the end of the 12-

hour shift, a factor often feared in shifts to  12-hour tours. The article quotes a survey of the Louisiana

State Police which found

 

“12-hour shifts improve morale and family life. Police officers who work the 12-hoursift generally spend

more time with their families; have more time and energy to perform routine tasks or larger projects

outside of work. Every other weekend off allows them to conduct long-range planning and more time

for recreation. A vast majority of spouses also reported overall satisfaction with the 12-hour schedule

(note – only 50% of officers have to work the holiday on 12-hour shifts, versus 75% under an 8-hour

system). It should be noted that there have been no insurmountable problems reported in implementing

a 12-hour schedule.”

 

The Michigan Police Officers Association reports that the 12-hour shift reduces sick leave, stating,  “sick hours tend to drop a

nominal amount,  the number of incidents (happening on a shift), decreased substantially more.  Surveys indicate that sick leave

has increased when fast rotating (12-hour) shifts are scheduled. “ 

 

The article advises a straight  12-hour shift for several weeks allows physiological adjustment and result in a larger

 decrease in the mount of sick leave.

Increases Officer Count.

The Michigan association found that “decreases in annual and sick leave affords more available

manpower, which can assist departments that have experienced a decrease in personnel through

attrition.”

The Michagan Police Association found that the 12-hour schedule helps  officers handle second jobs

better without affecting their police performance:  “Police officers suffer extremely early burnout and

struggle with scheduling problems. One reason is because many of them typically use their off time to

moonlight. Twelve-hour schedules are improving this situation and making scheduling of hours at their

second job more convenient.”

Officers Love the 12-Hour Shift.

The love of the 12-hour schedule is found on comments on the 12-hour schedules on various police blogs, to wit:

From a Chicago suburban officer: 

In my opinion the 12 hour shifts are great. It can be a long night especially with overtime but the time off is great. How our schedule works. This weekend I work Friday, Saturday, Sunday, off on Mon, Tues, work Wed, Thur, Off on Friday, Sat, Sun. Every other weekend is a three day weekend. Its great for time off and doing other things. It’s also nice if there is overtime available especially for a whole shift. 12 hours of OT is a nice bit of change in my pocket. The way the time works out every 6 weeks we are owed 12 hours back. We can take it as R/T (reclaim time) or just as a day off (we call it a Kelly Day, KDO) This schedule works out great. A perfect example is this let’s say it’s your short work week. You are only working Wed,Thur, so you have a KDO on Wed and burn a day of vacation on Thursday. Now you have 7 days off and only burned one day of vacation! I cant say enough good things about the 12 hour shifts.

From a police officer in Ohio:

“Used to work 12’s. Personally, I liked it better than 8’s or 10’s (which I’ve also worked). Our schedule was one where you had a three day weekend off every other week. It made for a long weekend on (three 12’s in a row on the weekend is a long shift), but you never had more than two days on in a row otherwise.”

The biggest downside to 12’s is the fact that you don’t have much time to do anything on the days you work. I tended to come home, eat, and go right to bed so I could get up for the next shift. The extra days off tend to balance that out, though.”

Another Ohio officer:

“As previously stated, 12s can be great because of the time off. Our department is currently on 12s and we are going through a change of command (our chief left and we are in limbo awaiting a replacement). The mayor is a retired chief of police and he advocates for 8 hour shifts. This has the department in an uproar because the guys love the 12s.

I’m used to working long shifts at my current full time gig so 12s don’t bother me. But, it does make for a long day if you have court/get stuck over on something and the overtime adds up quick.

I’ve never worked 10s but I think they would be a good median between the 8s or 12s. IMHO 8s are not efficient. You go out on something good and when you clear your shift could be more than half over.

From Louisiana:

“every 2 weeks we rotate from days to nights and back,think of it this way you only work 7 days every 2 weeks so technically you only work 1/2 a year love it…”

Management Talks

Captain Jon Sundermeier, Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department, notes the advantages from a management perspective, writing in Police Chief Magazine gave a perspective on the 12-hour shift. The LPD has 300 sworn officers and serves a city of 230,000 persons. White Plains has about 200 officers and serves a city of 57,000 by night, 200,000 by day. The Captain writes:

One advantage of the 12-hour shift is that it provides excellent coverage during peak times—typically late afternoon and evening and on into the early morning hours on weekends. A day shift and a night shift provide basic coverage for 24 hours, while another group of officers is scheduled from early afternoon to early morning hours. Staggered start times allow for constant coverage at the beginning and end of shifts. Although it is possible to build a schedule that provides similar coverage with 8- or 10-hour shifts, or a combination of both, the result is usually more complicated and unwieldy.

The captain finds that sick leave use initially decreased, but by the end of 2006, it had climbed back to ”slightly more than the average of 1,912 hours used by the same police team in the three previous years.”

He writes: “Some of the departments that the LPD contacted while planning implementation of the new shifts reported an overall decrease, but this was not the case in the first year of implementation in Lincoln.” He cautions that the test group of 12% of the work force meant you could not draw “meaningful conclusions” about sick leave from the trial.

The 12-hour shift has been touted by the City of White Plains as a significant way of decreasing police overtime.

Lincoln Police report that there was no significant drop in overtime, but saw significant trends in three areas: a decrease in overtime taken as time off; an almost  50% increase in overtime for court and a 51% decrease in the amount of overtime paid to complete reports.

Captain Sundenmeir gives it high marks: “The employee survey also indicates that 12-hour shifts have a mitigating effect on the negative aspects of shift work. Officers report being more rested and ready to return to work after days off but also note there is little time for anything but work during their work days. A more scientific approach might provide more conclusive data, but the survey and employee comments suggest that in addition to being happier, 12-hour shift workers are probably healthier as well. “

The captain puts this in perspective: “Before implementation, the main concern was whether 12-hour shifts would have a negative impact on the quality of the service provided by the department. Objective data suggest that it does not. There was no negative fiscal impact, and a trend toward less sick leave use was noted.”

To read the Captain’s full report, WPCNR directs you to http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1435&issue_id=32008

 

Hits: 0

WPCNR WIRE. December 26, 2008: The  sketchy quality of video and hard-to-hear static audio problems that have been plaguing Cablevision public access telecasting on Channel 76 returned again Friday evening, making the audio hard to hear without the customer turning up their standard cable set to full full. Reception on Hi-Definition via Optimum was better, but hum in the audio still persisted.

Cablevision and the City of White Plains have been without an operating contract for three years, relieving Cablevision of paying an annual stipend for technical improvements to the station. Cablevision continues to pay the city per subscriber,.

 The ongoing reception problems on Cablevision  have resulted in Cablevision technical personnel making adjustments to station equipment and their own equipment for weeks, but the problem continues to persist appearing again Friday evening. Neither the Cable station nor Cablevision has been able to fix the problem.

 The Cable Commission is set to take up a contract with a vendor to rewire the station’s control board, however, other technical experts familiar with the problem believe the problem lies in what happens to the Studio signal once it is sent to Cablevision, which routes it to Mamaroneck then back up to White Plains. A young man on duty at White Plains cable Friday evening reported to WPCNR the audio and video on White Plains Week was fine going out of the station, which would indicate it is what Cablevision is doing to the Cable signal is causing the problem.It has been going on intermittently for about three years, and had gotten increasingly worse in the late fall. The muffled bass audio and very blurry video were also prevalent on the Beyond the Game program aired after 9 P.M. Friday evening.

The problem continues to persist.

White Plains Week however may be seen in its entirety with crystal clear video and sharp audio on the internet at http://www.whiteplainsweek.com.

Hits: 0

 

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. December 26, 2008: In the About Our Schools newsletter circulated to all residents this week, the School District announced the format for its first ever Community Forum on the Budget, which will compose the budget in a two-step Forum process with the community. The format will consist of a brainstorming session from the community then a feedback  session that “will be used to guide the process of developing a budget which will be discussed at the second forum on February 25.

 

To kick things off at the January 15 meeting at the high school Room B-1 (which has a capacity of 200 persons. All members of the community are invited.

The newsletter reports the opening forum will begin this way: “there will be a brief review of the district’s financial situation and issues relating to development of the budget,” according to the publication. The format: “Attendees will (then) be seated in small groups and encouraged to participate in focused dialogue on spending efficiencies, areas of concern, budget priorities and creative ways to increase revenues.”

Tables will have moderators and a notetaker assigned. The newsletter does not make clear if a firm is being paid to conduct the forums, as was the case in the development of the schools’ Strategic Plan last year. As part of that plan a task force was created to focus on how additional revenues could be raised, whether they have come up with such suggestions is not known at this time.

The newsletter also notes that District administrators have begun to “prioritize areas of spending and to identify possible savings for next year’s budget, though the outgoing Superintendent of Schools, Timothy Connors has declined to commit to cutting the present rate of spending, or cut salaries in the current budget.

Hits: 0

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. December 24, 2008: White Plains City School District is not alone in waking up to the reality of teacher contracts. Teachers across the state are being met with opposition from their school districts as they attempt to negotiate contracts.

 Almost one third of New York State School Districts, 222 of 698 districts were operating without contracts with their teachers as of September according to the New York State School Board Association. Of those 222, 47 had declared “Impasse,” the process that White Plains and its White Plains Teachers Association began last Thursday.

.

Paul Heiser, spokesperson for the NYSSBA told WPCNR that, in addition to White Plains,  the districts of  Hendrick Hudson, Rye Neck and Southern Westchester BOCES were in Impasse, according to Mr. Heiser. Impasse is a legal state at which parties agree that are hopelessly deadlocked and mutually agree to bring in an independent mediator. If mediation does not produce an agreement, the parties go to fact finding, a process few districts or teachers like to do, because it exposes details of district finances and resources, according to the New York State Public Employer Relations Board. 

White Plains with a beginning teacher’s salary  with a B.A. Degree at $50,000, an MA, $57,815 and 2% “step” increases automatic for each year of service following, with a top salary of $125,871 for a Ph.d. with 20 years of service, put a very low offer on the table for the teachers in June and has not made an offer since according to the teachers union.

Raises to the Managers Rankles

 The district did give a last round of raises to 42 administrators, directors, principals and Assistant Principals of an average 7.5% more than double the inflation rate of 2.7% in the current 08-09 budget, a total of $444,553 in salary increases, the average raise was $10,584. The “Favored 42” are being paid a total of $5.9 Million in salaries alone in the current year, meaning they received raises lifting their portion of the payroll 8%. Teachers received a 3.5% raise

 The raises ranged from 2.6%  to 15% for its highest salaried administrators, a policy that has aggravated the teachers union which is being asked for givebacks on health benefits and a lower salary increase. According to Kerry Broderick , teachers’ cost of health benefits have escalated 17% against a 3.5% increase in wages in the 2007-2008 contract.

 You can review those individual increases received by district administraters in the previous WPCNR article on that round of administration pay raises last May at http://www.whiteplainscnr.com/article6576.html 

  The teachers in contrast received a 3.5% increase for 2007-2008.

Holding the line on teachers salaries to a mere 2% would help the district immeasurably, because it would hold the teachers’ salaries below the 5% level.

Here’s why, last year when the district settled with the teachers a 3.5% raise across all levels, in addition to a 2% automatic step increase provided for a total of 7% across all teacher levels, this resulted in an increase in the budget of 4.39% in salaries overall.

If the county (at a 1.77% increase), the city (at a 3.9% increase and the school district continues at last year’s growth rate this year, about 5%  the median home in White Plains will pay over $15,000 in property taxes that is UP $2,400 from last year. Should the city assessments NOT hold steady at last year’s level and actually decline, this automatically creates an additional tax increase of who knows what. 

2009-2010 Property Tax Forecast

If budgets Grow at 08-09 Rates

 

County Tax 2009 (1.77% UP)  From $2,440 to $2,500

City 3.9% (Holding Line) From $2,834 to $3,000

Schools (7% Tax Increase) From $10,342 to $11,065

The total for a $700,000 Median Priced Home — $16,565.

Plus Sewer Tax $343

Total Property Tax/Sewer Tax — $17,000

But this conservative forecast could turn out to be low.

If city assessments are down, and considering the 10% lowering of home prices across the city they could be, then the school tax rate will have to go up to make up the difference in tax revenue. Two years ago when assessments in the city sunk to $289 Million, the district had to increase the tax rate approximately $33 on top of the $474/per thousand to this year’s $503 per $1,000 of assessed value.

And, there’s another ominous possibility: If sales tax is down, the city may have to rachet up its tax rate exacting a higher toll on the city property tax.

Then of course, there is the problem of state aid being cut to the district, but this may be mitigated by increasing Medicaid givebacks from the government and infrastructure payments and aid to replace lost Wall Street revenue. Maybe.

The School District has recognized they have a problem.