Thus far, police benevolent associations have operated outside those restrictions. Legis. May 20, 2019| NewsdaySuffolk County police officers on Monday overwhelminglyratified a new six-year contract that will raise the pay of officerswith 15 years on the job to more than $200,000 a year by 2024 when overtime and benefits such as longevity are factored in.In an online vote that ended at 5 p.m.Monday,1,344 of the 1,623 Police Benevolent Association members84 percent -- backed the agreement, said Noel DiGerolamo, PBA president.An email that went out to members Friday said compounded pay increases will total more than 13 percent by the end of the contract.The email said paywill exceed $200,000 when factors including,top step, night differential, holiday pay, seven worked holidays, cleaning [allowance], 15 year longevity[and] 150 hours of overtime are considered.The add-ons will bring pay to $201,651 for officers working the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift and the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, and $208,657 for those who work midnight until8 a.m. May 19, 2019| Ken Girardin | Empire Center. Unlike the anticipated healthcare savings, the new costs from raises are. I went from the pinnacle of law enforcement to the basement, he told me. The root of the evil is the money.. On March 11, the county unveiled its long-awaited plan for police reform. Mr. Trotta was skeptical: What if a mentally ill person turns violent on a dime?. Villages hire anyone with a passing grade 75 or better; but must be a resident of that area.. This is a good thing, he said, gesturing at the meeting on his screen. Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. Top-step base pay is $181,969 and will rise at least once a year, according to a copy of the contract. Our mission is to make New York a better place to live and work by promoting public policy reforms grounded in free-market principles, personal responsibility, and the ideals of effective and accountable government. A member of the union sat on the reform task force. It amounted to more than $200 million over the life of the contract, when the county was already in debt. On November 20, 2012, the Highway Patrol Bureau resumed patrolling and answering all 911 calls for service . The new police chief, Mr. Burke, had reassigned all three Suffolk County detectives who had been working with the F.B.I., including two who were working on a major gang case. SMITHTOWN, N.Y. Rob Trotta, a cranky Republican county legislator on Long Island who worked as a cop for 25 years, might be the unlikeliest voice for police reform in America. The police union spoke out against the bill. We could have done the parks.. Spoke with my trainer he knows I need to stay in shape to do the PAT. But there are also far too many cases of police officers who abuse their positions and are protected by powerful police unions. An Audit of the Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, Inc. An Audit of the Independent Group Home Living, Inc. (IGHL). No figures were projected for 2024 or 2025, but given that more than a third of PBA-represented employees have been on the job fewer than six years, its likely police pay costs especially will surge in the out years. Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, Inc. A Limited Scope Report of Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, Inc. Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Procurement Procedures, A Performance Audit of The Departments Forfeiture Funds, Time Reporting Practices and Related Payroll Payments of Selected Employees of the Suffolk County Board of Elections. In the 1960s, a series of debilitating public sector strikes across New York persuaded lawmakers to pass the Taylor Law, which outlawed strikes but granted access to a labor-friendly board that resolved disputes. About 75%of county employees, excluding sworn law enforcement officers, are white, which is not reflective of the county population, Bellones office said. Language in the SCOPE deal requires the parties to find additional savings to prevent the deal from expiring in 2023 or 2024 instead of 2025, but the countys only recourse from runaway costs will be reducing expenses through binding arbitration or moving employees to the New York State Health Insurance Plan. But I dug around and found articles about the power of the Suffolk County police unions from the 1970s, long before it was legal for police officers to donate to political campaigns in New York. Police officers testified that they feared for their families safety or that theyd be framed for crimes if they blew the whistle on their boss. Emergency Housing Services Program, A Performance Audit of The Suffolk County STOP-DWI Program, Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning, A Limited Scope Audit of the Surplus County-Owned Real Estate Auction Held on October 22 & 23, 2019, Suffolk County Department of Public Works, Suffolk County Department of Public Works Capital Projects, Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, A Performance Audit of the Administration of Sweet Hills Stables, Inc. License Agreement, A Performance Audit of Small Scale Construction Bids, A Compilation and Analysis of Contract Agency Disclosure Form Data, Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation, A Performance Audit of the Administration of Requests for Proposals and Awarding of License Agreements, A Performance Audit of the Probation Departments Forfeiture Funds, A Performance Audit of the Administration of License Agreements, A Performance Audit of The Sheriff Offices Forfeiture Funds, An Audit of the Suffolk County Sheriff Offices Civil Bureau. Mr. Trotta thought it was because they lived in communities with more crime. He was a Republican who had predicted in a radio interview that police reform wouldnt amount to much. The Suffolk County Detectives Association contract will increase base salaries from $58.6 million total in 2019 to $65.7 million in 2024, county officials said. Transcripts of the public safety meetings in that era are full of county legislators praising the chief. Backed by the union, the district attorney and the county executive, Mr. Burke seemed untouchable. The. I cant stress to you enough how afraid of the union these people are, he said of his fellow legislators. For one thing, its hard to know just what lawmakers were agreeing to, because the AME and PBA contracts were memorandums of agreement that modified existing deals. Copyright 2023 Newsday. In cost-saving measures, sick pay will be reduced to 13 days a year, compared with 26 days under the previous contract. Catching thieves who stole copper pipes out of abandoned homes. But I dug around and found articles about the power of the Suffolk County police unions from the . There might have been enough money, too, for the social workers the activists wanted. The county had been considering asking employees to pay 15% of their total health care costs. Eye-popping a sum as that might seem, its par for the course in Suffolk County. H[k0 /Pd]ABG}X&JqN%g$efYEysMKQD2,HCa8Zdhv4A]_(;8("ZaNshHT9;2n:]o(GApuQ_sqH,|-%Ti$8oDB0HpmTg9KMq`. New Yorks most populous suburban county has just ratified a trio of labor deals with its largest unionsand, in the process, showcased some of the worst aspects of collective bargaining across the state. Did anyone recieved their scores? With the detective contract, county officials have in the last year signed off on union contracts that are expected to cost about $460 million more in total than previous contracts, according to budget review reports. Mr. Trotta had loved being a cop. He said some elected officials visibly stiffened when police union representatives walked into county meetings. He reminded them of Jimmy McNulty, the quirky detective from the TV show The Wire.. Unlike the anticipated healthcare savings, the new costs from raises areguaranteedto materialize. They also approved a healthcare cost-sharing agreement with the Suffolk County Organization of Public Employees (SCOPE), a consortium of all 11 county employee unions. In Suffolk County, the police unions wield outsize influence. For all other offerings (Bids, RFQs, RFEIs, RFIs, Solicitation of Quotes): Please click here for access to Suffolk Countys Procurement Announcement System: https://dpw.suffolkcountyny.gov/rfp/Login.aspx, Copyright 2023, Suffolk County Government, Business Accommodations for Customers with Disabilities, https://dpw.suffolkcountyny.gov/rfp/Login.aspx. Suffolk County police officers on Monday overwhelmingly ratified a new six-year contract that will raise the pay of officers with 15 years on the job to more than $200,000 a year by 2024. From what I understand only the cognitive ability portion of the exam allowed for unanswered questions. Last September, it also collected tens of thousands of dollars from Long Island businesses, including two $10,000 checks from construction and maintenance companies, which super PACs are allowed to do. The total cost of the contractwas not available Tuesday night. After he won, they got their expressway back, along with a new contract. 0000002313 00000 n GL. The lengths of the deals are themselves problematic. It was on one of those calls that Mr. Trotta encountered other people railing about the power of police unions liberal activists. It has not only a PAC, but also a super PAC that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on local elections. New York State Police Memorial Service: 1 PM on Tuesday, May 7th at the Empire State Plaza, Albany. The County Legislature released a single-page analysis of top-line costs for each of the three deals, without providing a cost breakdown for specific provisions. But as that exclusive representative, the union is held to what courts have defined as the duty of fair representation. In short, it means the union has to do its best to represent every worker (member or non-member) equally well. That case revealed a stunning indifference on the part of police officers. He couldnt get assigned to the public safety committee, even as a former police officer. These agreements represent a major milestone that protect the taxpayer and are fair to the hardworking men and women who ensure our public safety and help operate county government, Mr. Bellone said in a statement. This lottery was done in 2019 for people who took the Spanish speaking test in 2016 and scored an 85. Additional provisions of the contract include: Then another. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) abstaining. Plattsburgh, New York. In June 2019, while in office, the prior presiding officer of the Suffolk Co. legislature claimed that he was threatened by corrupt individuals, that he spoke with the FBI about corruption in Suffolk Co. and that the FBI acknowledged it. You do not have permission to view this gallery. At Suffolk County's widest point the distance from the Long Island Sound to the Southern shore is only 26 miles. 0000003668 00000 n Mr. Trotta watched the rollout on Zoom at his office desk in Smithtown. Pigott has worked for the department since 2009, including as director of the Minority Health Office and Emergency Medical Services.Dr. On the other hand, maybe they hire lower scores. We highlight PBA members' work; we recognize their heroic actions, and we educate the public regarding the sacrifices police officers make each day. (383p00Ue@Aa#CS#in=`i L#" endstream endobj 42 0 obj <> endobj 43 0 obj <> endobj 44 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC]/XObject<>>> endobj 45 0 obj <> endobj 46 0 obj <> endobj 47 0 obj <>stream The DSPBA is asking for your support so that we may continue to provide many community based programs and events. Theres nothing in ours that nobody else has, Gallagher said. Unless legislators were presented with all four documents, they had no way of seeing what they were actually committing to. Late Thursday, as hailed in this space, Mayor de Blasio finally made a decisive moveor at least seemed to make a movein the direction of actually saving some money on labor costs by getting tough with a powerful (and powerfully self-entitled) municipal union. Anyone know what day in January theyre going to release our grades? Police commissioners come and go. Also Tuesday, the legislature approved several key appointments, including: The legislature also approved the creation of a chief diversity officer for the first time. It was true. The revelation that officers lied shocked many on Long Island. **JUST MY TWO CENTS***, at the end of this year apparently about 50-60% of the department is eligible for retirement. Working weekly. 0000005120 00000 n 41 18 This page was generated at 08:27 PM. Lawmakers waived a county charter-required seven-day waiting period to vote on the deals before more details emerged or could be scrutinized, and approved each measure nearly unanimously. Chief Deputy County AttorneyLynne Bizzarro will become acting county attorney. Since the killing of George Floyd, the push to rein in the police has gained public support across the country, as liberal activists demand sweeping changes to policing and greater accountability for officers who commit crimes. Just be aware the last test was told over and over again it was going to exhaust all the people that scored 95 but at the end they only made it through the first 2500 of the lottery. Thats one reason the growing criticism of the police has been met with a passionate counter-movement, called Blue Lives Matter. 0000000960 00000 n Terms of the 2019-2024 contract for the Suffolk County Detective Investigators Police Benevolent Association, which represents 51 detectives assigned to the county district attorneys office, mirror those of other law enforcement contracts, officials said. The six-year contract will provide detective investigators with annual raises totaling 11.25%, boosting county salary costs by $1.99 million through 2024, legislative budget analysts said. I heard a lot of people didnt finish this exam. For one thing, its hard to know just what lawmakers were agreeing to, because the AME and PBA contracts were memorandums of agreement that modified existing deals. Suffolk CO to NYPD is pretty dumb unless you had to be a cop. There are more than 18,000 policing organizations in the United States. Previously, there was a second tier of top pay that Mr. Kaiman said likely would not have made it through arbitration. We will prob hear late November/December hopefully! Copkiller Invited to Speak at Suny Brockport. 0000002407 00000 n The phrase defund the police makes his skin crawl. 0000000656 00000 n Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's Social Media. He pointed out his fellow county legislators on the screen and rattled off how much the police union had spent to help each one get elected. The Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday night, with the countys Association of Municipal Employees (AME) and Police Benevolent Association (PBA), which together represent more than half of the county workforce. Curious to hear some of your weekly routines to stay sharp for the PAT, It was said on another forum it would be 2 weeks prior to Christmas we would be mailed results. Departments > Public Works > Bids and Contracts. The very first bill Mr. Trotta presented required all officers above the rank of captain to have a bachelors degree and be free of complaints about civilian abuse or moral turpitude requirements that Chief Burke, who did not have a college degree, did not meet. Anyone know the estimated time frame it usually takes to hear back with your score? As hated as Mr. Trotta is among the political establishment, many of his former colleagues respect him. Those contracts, however, were never filed with the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), as required by state regulations, nor were they posted on the county website. National Police Week: Event Link. Unless legislators were presented with all four documents, they had no way of seeing what they were actually committing to. Yet Mr. Trotta has railed for years about the political influence of police unions in Suffolk County, Long Island, a place where the cops are known to wield exceptional clout. Its becoming a young department and these last two tests were a lot of people being hired. Neither bill was voted on Tuesday. He made me realize it was even worse than Id thought, one of the Democratic Socialists, a 25-year-old from Setauket named Hannah Erhart, told me. Is that how it goes? Dec. 12, 2019| NewsdayHigh-ranking Suffolk County policeare set to get 11.25% raises over six years under a tentative $53 million deal reached with the Superior Officers Association, officials said Wednesday.Sergeants, lieutenants, captains and other senior officersat top step would have base salaries ranging from $183,000 to$273,000 a year by 2024, officials said.