Taveras Pushes for Benefits Bonanza for City Bosses
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The city administration is pushing to legalize extra benefits—from more sick and vacation time to annual clothing allowances—for city police and fire managers that all told cost hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
A previous GoLocalProv investigation revealed that managers in the Fire Department were receiving the same benefits as union members—without the explicit authorization or in direct violation of city ordinance. In 2010, assistant chiefs and other top officials took nearly an extra $500,000 in benefits—and that figure just takes into account the costs in fire, not police. (See below chart.)
After a report from the Internal Auditor this spring confirmed that illegal benefits were being issued to fire officials, city councilmen called for the administration to halt them. But instead, the city is proposing a series of ordinances which would legalize the benefits.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST‘Not the time to entertain expanding benefits’
Several city councilmen yesterday told GoLocalProv that it’s the last thing the city needs right now—as it continues to grapple with how to close an estimated $110 million deficit. “The city is facing such a dire financial situation that it’s clearly not the time to entertain expanding or granting benefits,” said Council Finance Chairman John Igliozzi.
Council President Michael Solomon agreed. “We can’t afford anything right now,” Solomon said. “Dollars are scarce.”
Benefits bonanza: More sick time, vacation weeks, and holiday pay
The proposed amendments, if approved, would make the following changes to city law:
■ Sick Time: Currently capped at 120 days, the amendment would allow the Public Safety Commissioner and the Personnel Director the authority to determine the amount of annual sick time and the amount of unused sick time that can be accumulated.
■ Vacation Days: The new ordinance would remove the current cap of 14 days of vacation time for non-union officials. The Public Safety Commissioner would get to determine how much vacation time would be permitted.
■ Holiday Pay: Currently non-union police and fire get eight paid holidays. Under the new ordinance there would be no formal limit on the number of paid holidays. Instead, the Public Safety Commission would determine how many would be approved.
■ Clothing Allowances: Currently the annual clothing allowance is $130 for police officers and $105 for firefighters not in the union. Under the proposed ordinance, the Public Safety Commissioner could increase those amounts at his discretion.
Solomon submitted the ordinances to the City Council at the request of Mayor Angel Taveras. But he said he did that merely as a favor to the administration, saying he personally opposes the ordinances because they would give too much authority to the Public Safety Commissioner. “If we can trust this commissioner to do the right thing, that’s fine, but who’s to say we can trust the next guy?” Solomon said.
He said non-union benefits would be clearly spelled out in city ordinances. “It should be clear cut,” Solomon said. “Either they get it or they don’t get it. There should be no discretion on this stuff.”
‘Financially irresponsible’
Igliozzi said the amount of power given to the Public Safety Commissioner would be inappropriate under any circumstance, but especially in a financial emergency.
“It’s inappropriate to do that because the City Council is the body that levies taxes, passes budgets,” Igliozzi said. “You have the potential to get into a situation where the Public Safety Commissioner is granting lucrative benefits to individuals without it being in the budget. That would be financially irresponsible.”
In the past, city fire chiefs have said they deserve the same benefits as the union members—especially compounded cost of living adjustments in retirement. Last year, an attempt to pass an ordinance ensuring they received compounded COLAs failed. After that, two top officials took voluntary demotions to union positions in order to receive the better retirement benefits. When the city rescinded those demotions, fire officials took another tack, filing to unionize, as first reported by GoLocalProv.
Councilman Miguel Luna said the higher salaries they earn more than make up for the loss of some union benefits when they are promoted to non-union positions. “They’re not part of the bargaining unit,” Luna said. “They have their perks already.”
Spokesman: ‘Modernizing’ ordinances
City spokesman David Ortiz denied that the proposed ordinances were necessarily an attempt to boost or preserve extra benefits for non-union fire and police officials.
“These ordinances were submitted by the administration to start a conversation about modernizing decades-old, outdated ordinances that pre-date collective bargaining,” Ortiz said. “Amending the ordinances will give the Public Safety Commissioner the discretion he ought to have to award or deny non-union benefits.”
“Mayor Taveras and the Council have worked and will continue to work together to make important spending cuts to address Providence’s structural deficit,” Ortiz added. “The Taveras administration has already made unprecedented cuts to non-union management through layoffs and payroll reductions.”
Ortiz also said the city is making a key change to severance pay, which previously has been granted to city retirees without the approval of the City Council, as mandated by ordinance. A recent report by the Internal Auditor found that over the last three years more than $700,000 in severance for unused sick time had been paid out to non-union retirees in the Fire Department.
“The Taveras administration is ending the longstanding practice of paying out non-union employees who are ending their employment with the city for unused sick time unless approved by the City Council,” Ortiz said.
Igliozzi said he had not been informed of the change in policy—which he applauded. “I’m happy to hear the administration is going to follow the law,” Igliozzi said. “There is no discretion in that.”
Councilmen: City bosses should pay back extra benefits
Some councilmen have called for the City Solicitor to recovery extra benefits that were paid out to city employees that violated city ordinances or were no authorized by them. “Any benefits that were given out illegally I support the City Solicitor—the city—doing anything in its power to recuperate those funds,” Igliozzi said.
He has specifically called for the recovery of the unauthorized severance payments.
“The City Solicitor has given forward a positive response to my letter and now is putting together a procedure on how he needs to proceed … to recuperate those funds,” Igliozzi said.
If you valued this article, please LIKE GoLocalProv.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Related Articles
- EXCLUSIVE: Providence Bosses Take Raises
- GoLocalProv Uncovers: Providence Fire Bosses File to Unionize
- Providence Bosses Take $300,000 in Severance Pay
- Providence Fire Bosses - $700,000 in ‘Illegal’ Severance Pay
- Providence Fire Bosses Earn an Extra $400,000 in Benefits
- EXCLUSIVE: Internal Auditor—Illegal Payments and Benefits in Providence
