Correction Dept. May Be Short Qualified Capts.; Only 13% of Officers Made Grade On Promotion Test

By REUVEN BLAU

Only 186 Correction Officers have passed the Captain promotion exam based on preliminary results, which may force the department to curve scoring or quickly administer another test to meet its hiring needs, THE CHIEF-LEADER has learned.

SID SCHWARTZBAUM: A sad situation.

The two unions representing supervisory titles in the department cited the drastically reduced starting salary of $64,836 as the major cause, contending that it has deterred officers either from signing up for the test or taking the time out to properly study. The initial 13-percent pass rate - 1,448 officers took the exam - is also the result of the department changing the passing score to 70 percent, insiders said.

Department Not Worried

The Correction Department, however, maintained last week that it's too early to gauge the figures, noting that the answer key protest period for the exam is still open. Any complaints must be submitted by Dec. 6.

"We are not going to speculate on this," said DOC spokesman Michael Saucier.

But barring multiple questions being tossed or a scoring curve being implemented, the list will not contain enough eligibles to fill projected vacancies over the next several years, past hiring figures suggest. According to the department, in 2004 the agency promoted 167 Captains, 55 in 2005, and 111 this year so far.

PETER D. MERINGOLO: Pay cut devalued job.

Officials from the unions representing Correction's supervisor titles said they were adamantly against curving the test to generate more passing scores. "I'm not in favor of lowering the mark, but I'm clearly against provisional appointments," said Peter D. Meringolo, president of the Correction Captains' Association. "I do not believe that they should go around and appoint the people they want to."

The union president pointed out that most experienced COs do not work nights or weekends and are stationed at preferred posts, which would change if they were to be promoted. Under those circumstances, he said, there is no reason for a seasoned Correction Officer to take the Captain test.

'Chickens Come Home'

"The city should have realized this is the product of making unions sell out the unborn," he contended. "The rank no longer becomes desirable."

Last summer, CCA members overwhelmingly ratified a four-year, 6-1/2-month pact that provided them with a 17-percent wage increase. But the deal also requires newly promoted Captains to work an additional six tours a year while making them work longer in the rank to reach maximum salary.

Mr. Meringolo argued that he had little choice in the matter, noting that the first two years of this round of bargaining were shaped by the pattern set by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's attrition-based arbitration award in June 2005.

A significant portion of the wage hikes for the PBA was offset by the reduction in the pay scale for future hires. But because savings to the city are greater under the PBA deal due to the higher attrition rate among cops, the Bloomberg administration demanded additional savings from the CCA and other smaller unions with more stable work forces to even out its costs.

Problems on '04 Test

As for the latest Captain's test, the low preliminary passing rate comes after a veteran agency official in August said he was "thrilled" that more than 1,672 officers had applied for the exam. In comparison, 2,738 officers applied for the previous one administered in 2004.

On the 2004 test, the department passed some officers who scored lower than a 50, which resulted in a 730-name list. Only the top 69 candidates scored 70 or above, and just the first four candidates scored 80 or higher.

Sidney Schwartzbaum, the president of the Assistant Deputy Wardens'/Deputy Wardens' Association, blasted that decision. "You can't make a tulip a rose," he said during a phone interview last week. "It's really hard to supervise somebody who really doesn't know the rules or the directives."

Captains who lack knowledge of the department's complex policies will be more liable to make mistakes, which will open the city to costly lawsuits, the union officials contended.

'Need the Most-Qualified'

"You should want the most qualified to hold the position," Mr. Meringolo said. "If they are not knowledgeable about what the duties are and how to be a Captain, they are putting themselves and the department at risk."

Mr. Schwartzbaum called the current situation "sad," and suggested that the department administer a new test, despite the additional costs. "I'm totally against any type of curve, and I totally support keeping the standards high," he asserted. "This agency can ill afford any erosion of the standards for promotion."

He added that veteran officers are no longer taking the exam "because of the insignificant monetary gains and loss of vacation time, night differential, additional tours, and time to reach top pay. The promotion is really not desirable anymore."

Briefly Trailed CO Pay

Based on the contract negotiated in July, newly-promoted Captains were paid $1,400 less in base salary than veteran Correction Officers until Nov. 11, when the third-year 3.15-percent raise became effective for CCA members.

Norman Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, declined to discuss the latest figures, but he has urged the department to change the promotion exam.

The current test, he contended, is not an accurate indicator of who would make a good Captain. "You have some really smart Correction Officers but they are just not good test-takers," he said in August. The department, he suggested, should add an oral interview to the exam to better assess candidates' leadership abilities.