New
Hartford cuts off Philo's 'show-up pay'
By
ELIZABETH COOPER Posted Aug 14,
2010 @ 04:47 PM NEW
From 2004 to 2009, town police Chief Raymond
Philo took in $14,603 from a benefit called show-up pay, which rank and file
officers get for showing up 15 minutes before their shifts officially start. After Patrick Tyksinski became town
supervisor Jan. 1, however, he and the Town Board blocked Philo from getting
show-up pay for the three months he worked in early 2010 before retiring. Tyksinski and some members of the Town Board
say they don’t think police chiefs should be eligible for show-up pay. Nonetheless: * Timothy O’Neill might well be getting
show-up pay for the time he served as acting chief from March to June of this
year, despite the fact that his salary was increased for that period. * And provisional Chief Mike Inserra’s
$91,000 salary — which is about $5,000 higher than Philo’s 2010 base salary –
“includes longevity pay, ‘show-up’ pay, any type of raise that would be coming
forward to 2009,” according to the town resolution appointing him to the job. Tyksinski said there is no discrepancy at
work here. The way Inserra’s salary was calculated was
mandated by state law, he said, adding that the resolution’s wording did not
accurately express the town’s intent. By saying Inserra’s salary “included” show up
pay, the resolution meant to indicate that he would not be getting any more
than $91,000, Tyksinski said. “It was not to say, ‘You are getting show up
pay,’” Tyksinski said. “It was, ‘You’re not getting show-up pay. Here’s your
salary.’” He said he opposes show-up pay for chiefs on
principal. “There are certain things that as chief you
are just not entitled to, and this is one of them” Tyksinski said of show-up
pay. The Town Board is set to vote on O’Neill’s
show up pay at its next meeting. O’Neill could not be reached for this story.
Inserra did not return calls. History of practice Show-up pay for chiefs has been a divisive
issue in New Hartford since 2004. That year, the town and the union that
represents its police approved a new contract that for the first time included
show-up pay for rank and file officers. Philo said in an interview this week that he
believed at the time, and still believes, that state law entitled him to the
same benefits as those who work under him. A December 2005 letter written by then-Town
Attorney Vincent Rossi outlines what happened next. In December 2004, Philo approached town
Bookkeeper Carol Fairbrother and asked her for his show-up pay, which she
calculated and gave to him, town records show. The amount was $2,241, town records show. When then-Supervisor Ralph Humphreys learned
what had happened, he tried to get Philo to return the money, but Philo
refused, Rossi’s letter states. Both Philo and Humphreys consulted lawyers
and each got an opinion supporting their view. Rather than litigate the issue, the Town
Board then proposed that Philo be allowed to keep the money for 2004, but never
seek it again. Philo again refused, Rossi stated. In December 2005, Philo again asked
Fairbrother for his show up pay. He provided her with the opinion his lawyer
had written about the previous year’s pay. Fairbrother and town Personnel Director
Barbara Aiello discussed the issue and decided to give him the check for
$2,319, records show. They did not consult Humphreys, and when he
found out, he again asked Philo to return the check. Philo refused, Rossi stated. “I stopped payment on the check,” Humphreys
said in a recent interview. “I figured if he wants to sue us, let him sue us.” But Humphreys was about to leave office. He
urged his successor, Earle Reed to pursue the issue. Reed, however, did not do so, and Philo got
his show-up pay for the duration of the Reed administration, records show. It wasn’t until Tyksinski took over in
January 2010 that the practice stopped. Reed could not be reached for this story. Not alone Some other police chiefs in the state get
show-up pay. The Utica Police Department’s chief and
deputy chief get show up pay, just as those who work under them do. But New York Mills Police Chief Robert
Swenzkowski and Whitestown Police Chief Donald Wolanin do not. Both said their
rank-and-file officers don’t get the pay either, however. Most police chiefs in the state don’t get
show-up pay, New York State Association of Police Chiefs Executive Director
John Grebert said. Nonetheless, if the highest-ranking officer
on the police force gets show-up pay, so should the chief, he said. Grebert said his organization believes that
chiefs should get every part of an officer’s compensation package with a few
exceptions, including overtime pay. Humphreys said he thought the show-up pay was
overtime. “They come in 15 minutes early and they get
paid for 15 minutes of work,” he said of the rank-and-file officers. “They have
to work more hours to get the money.” But Philo, interviewed this week, stood by
his belief that chiefs should get show-up pay. He said since New Hartford Police show up pay
is calculated as straight pay, not time-and-a-half like overtime, it was
covered. He said he had not pursued his 2010 show-up
pay because “I didn’t even have time to deal with it.” O’Neill and Inserra Tyksinski said he would support giving
O’Neill his show-up pay for the months he served as acting chief. “It’s not going to be a significant amount,”
he said. Also, O’Neill never left the union, and has
now returned to his old position of lieutenant, he said. Inserra’s salary is based on aspects of
Philo’s total compensation plus the raise the highest-ranking officer on the
force would get in 2009, Tyksinski said. That’s common practice for calculating
chief’s salaries, Grebert of the Police Chief’s Association said. “If it had included Philo’s show up pay, it
would have been a lot higher than that,” Tyksinski said. At least one Town Board member, Don Backman,
said he didn’t like Inserra’s higher pay package, but had voted for it anyway. “Put yourself in my shoes,” Backman said.
“Vote against an incoming chief and then have to work with him for four years?
Think about how well that’s going to go.” |
