The Paper Trail: How Fire Chief Got His Special Pension Deal
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Former Johnston fire chief Victor Cipriano has retired with a generous disability pension that has him earning $83,381.82 this year. This is about $10,000 more than the most he ever earned as fire chief thanks to all sorts of perks, like a monthly $250 disability benefit and a 3 percent raise in his first year of retirement.
Just how did Cipriano get his special deal? The paper trail leads right to a series of private memos between Cipriano and former Mayor William Macera.
(Click here to read Cipriano's response to this story and here for a timeline of events.)
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1. Agreement Between Macera and Cipriano
This 2004 memo shows that Macera gave Cipriano the same pension benefits that members of the firefighter union receive - even though as fire chief, Cipriano was no longer a member of the union.
2. The Johnston Town Charter
Below is an excerpt from the section of the Johnston town charter that deals with the powers of the mayor. The highlighted text states that the mayor can negotiate contracts, but the town council must ratify them. However, there is no record of the town council ever holding a vote on the deal that Macera awarded to Cipriano.
3. Letter from Cipriano to Macera
This is the 2005 letter from Cipriano to the mayor, in which he asks if he can be put on a disability pension, due to a knee injury.
4. Letter from Macera to Cipriano
In this letter, the mayor grants Cipriano's request to be put on a disability pension.
5. Calculation of Cipriano's Longevity Pay
The handwritten note at the bottom of this document shows how Cipriano's annual longevity pay was calculated. The town took his starting pension income, gave him a seemingly random 3 percent raise, and multiplied that by 5.5 percent to figure out how much he would be earning in longevity pay.
6. Cipriano's Pay Stub
This pay stub shows how much Cipriano has earned so far in 2010. It does not include his longevity pay, which is sent to him in one lump sum in the fall (see the above document for an explanation of how his longevity pay was calculated). The pay stub lists his address in Florida, but Cipriano recently moved back to Johnston.
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