WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE News & Comment, By John F. Bailey. May 31, 2010 UPDATED JUNE 2, 2010: This week’s “Journalism Quote of the Week,” reads:
“The real stories are in the back-up material. Read responsibly.”
In behind-the-scenes, unpublic maneuvers that made the Delfino Administration look good, the Common Council and the new “transparent” administration registered a new low on the Opacitometer” that measures the City’s Transparency Index by the Council “whistling past the graveyard” vote on the budget last Monday.
That vote not only socked union and non-union retirees (working for the city before July 1,1995) with a $1,102 payment for Single Person Coverage and a $2,395 for Family Coverage, the council coolly gave a round of raises to 21 Commissioners and managers ranging from 2.1% to 10.8%–lwhich just happened to cover the Commissioners’ and managers’ new 15% contribution to paying their medical benefits.
Admittedly the top brass had not had a raise in 2009-10, but the raises in an atmosphere of hand-wringing over finances on the part of the Council and the Mayor the last five months take your breath away.
This reporter did not even think the salaries in the back-up material represented increases since the Council and the administration, had been railing forcefully against the 3.75% and 4% raises for police and fire and had gotten the CSEA and Teamsters to give back their negotiated raises and pledge no raises.
Wow!
Who knew?
The Journal News did not even notice it. WPCNR assumes they were tipped to it by one of the unions.
Wow.
This reporter looked at the backup material and noticed the15% in medical benefits but did not pickup the subtle language in the legislation that it applied to the union employees hired prior to July 1,1995. After being informed this affected 600 retirees, not the “handful” described by the Common Council in budget meetings, WPCNR found the 15% affects 700 retirees.
Then the council has the audacity and hypocrisy to slip through not only $1,106 to $2,396 in income takeaways from union and non-union retirees, making them pay 15% of medical benefits premiums, but on the same night when they pontificated sickeningly on how the police and fire unions did not cooperate, thus “choosing layoffs,” the council was simultaneously slipping raises to the administration commissioners.
The really pathetic reality is these commissioners who received these raises have gotten just enough raise (and in some cases way more than enough) – to cover the 15% they have to pay in medical benefits.
How convenient!
Management sacrifice in this city?
How about salary CUTS!!
Unheard of.
What a coincidence?
Who knew?
How do you like that?
For months we have heard the hand-wringing, the agonizing over how all must sacrifice to restore fund balance and the council saying that the commissioners, non-management personnel and confidential employees were now going to pay 15% of their medical benefits.
However the management personnel targeted by the Council’s “Gotcha Adam Purge” of Adam Bradley aids: the Public Information Officer, the Administrative Officer, and an aid in the law department – all Bradley appointees are out of luck – unless of course the administration brings them back under some positions that are still being funded, but not filled, like Commissioner of Recreation and Parks, Deputy Commissioner of Recreation and Parks, Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety, and Deputy Commissioner of Traffic.
However, according to Commissioner of Finance on Wednesday, Michael Genito, those vacant positions are not being funded, even though salaries are listed. Genito said the table of organization is simply to stipulate what those positions would be paid if filled.
The council sacked Adam Bradley’s appointees. But those three are still on the payroll until June 30.
Not so the hapless newest police officers and firefighters in White Plains, New York, USA. They are gone overnight.
The council took no time in in voting for those 21 Police and fireman layoffs, even though the Mayor said he was “hopeful” of a settlement. The next morning the day after the council decided on layoffs on Decision Night, they were all fired. Gone. To stand on the unemployment line even though they were budgeted for through June 30.
No compassion there, was there? Do you see any?
But certainly a lot of compassion for the top brass without raises for one year.
Oh, the suffering!
This is a Common Council that did not even think about forstaying the binding arbitration process or protest it at all at the time the former Mayor (Joseph Delfino) was entering into it.
This is a Common Council (Beth Smayda and David Buchwald and Mayor Bradley are exempt from this folly perpetrated by Tom Roach, Milagros Lecouna, Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power) who went along with that one, without a peep of protest.
Those four did not protest strongly at all despite media reports that sales tax was going south and the city was in trouble, all during 2008 and 2009.
However Ms. Smayda, Mr.Buchwald,and Mayor Bradley along with the feckless four: Roach, Lecouna, Boyin and Power) voted those raises for their Commissioners last Monday evening, in a zero% inflation environment (according to the state).
Under this sanctimonious cost-cutting and budget lowering, the Common Council approved $112,924 in salary increases for 21 Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners whose management decisions (with exception of the new arrivals: Michael Genito, John Callahan and David Chong) have helped get the city into its present financial predicament by their budgets of the last 12 years..
The raises are well above the rate of inflation ranging from 2.1% for the Library Director to 10.8% for the Commissioner of Parking and Acting Commissioner of Recreation, reflecting his double-duties. To be fair, commissioners did not receive increases in2009-10, but all we have been hearing for weeks is austerity, unions must give back to save the city. Few in the corporate world are getting raises of 4 to 5%.
Let’s go down the Commissioner Lineup:
The Assessor :From $122,985 to $127,000 Raise:$4,015 Percentage: 3.3%
The Commissioner of Building: from $138,478 to $141,500. Raise: $3022 Pct: 2.1%
The Deputy Commissioner of Building: $122,357 to $126,000 Raise:$3,643 Pct: 3%
City Clerk: $95,437 to $101,000. Raise: $5,563. Pct: 5.8%
Corporation Counsel: $185,000 to $190,000. Raise: $5,000. Pct.: 2.7% (after five months on job).
Chief Deputy Corporation Counsel: $152,069 to $158,000. Raise: $5,931. Pct: 3.9%
Deputy Corporation Counsel: $145,227 to $151,000. Raise: $5,773. Pct: 3.9%
Deputy Commissioner of Finance:$125,284 to $129,500. Raise:$4,216. Pct: 3.4%
Library Director: $138,086 to $141,000. Raise: $2,914. Pct:2.1%
Personnel Officer: $144,595 to $149,000. Raise: $4,405.Pct: 3%
Deputy Personnel Officer:$70,000 to $72,500. Raise: $2,500 Pct: 3.6
Commissioner of Parking/Recreation & Parks: $150,619 to $167,000. Raise: $16,381. Pct: 10.8%
Deputy Commissioner of Parking: $130,003 to $137,000. Raise:$6,997. Pct: 5.4%
Commissioner of Planning: from $156,207 to $162,000. Raise:$5,793. Pct: 3.7%
Commissioner of Public Works: from $164,545 to $170,000. Raise: $5,455. Pct: 3.3%
Deputy Commissioner of Public Works: $132,919 to $138,000 Raise: $5,081. Pct: 3.8%
Deputy Commissioner of Public Works: $121,253 to $125,000 Raise: $3,747. Pct.: 3.1%
Commissioner of Purchase: $107,075 to $111,000. Raise: $3,925. Pct: 3.7%
Commissioner of Traffic: $124,653 to $129,000. Raise: $4,347. Pct: 3.5%
Director of Youth Bureau. $118,406 to $123,000. Raise: $4,594. Pct: 3.9%
Deputy Director of Youth Bureau: $101,378 to $111,000. Raise: $9,622. Pct: 9.5%
This was done at the Common Council in a very untransparent manner, where they cut over 700 retirees incomes by $1,000 to $2,400 by decreeing by unanimous vote that they would have to pay 15% of their medical benefits. At no time when this was discussed was it made clear by the Common Council (though according to Councilpersons Power and Buchwald the council knew this), that this would apply to union member retirees (working for the city prior to July 1, 1995).
This sets the stage for the Common Council to ram through a 15% medical benefits charge on the police and fire unions when their contract expires June 30, which it is believed the city can do since the police and fire do not have a contract at that time.
Again, I draw your attention to the fact that all these raises to the Commishes easily cover whatever they will have to pay in medical benefits with a lot more than pocket change left over.
How feckless. They aren’t paying for their medical benefits. They’re being reimbursed for those payments for medical benefits with these raises.
