Benefits Veterans Most
Nassau Cop Award: Gains on Both Sides

By REUVEN BLAU

While the new Nassau County police arbitration award has been hailed by area officials as saving taxpayers millions, the contract's increased maximum pay and longevity bonuses will keep the county's officers among the country's highest-paid.

THOMAS R. SUOZZI: Award reins in costs.

Under the six-year award, which covers Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2012, county officers with eight years' experience will receive 4-percent hikes each year. The five-member arbitration panel also awarded five $25 annual longevity increases, in the form of what is known as a recurring increment payment.

Longevity Comparison

The significant hike in longevity pay by contract's end will provide $2,550 a year for officers with at least six years' service, which is up from the $1,800 they previously received. In addition, officers with 20 years' service will get $8,500 annually by the end of the award in 2012.

In comparison, NYPD Police Officers with five years' experience receive $3,245 each year in longevity payments, and cops with 20 years' service get $6,245.

HOWARD WEITZMAN: May cut health tab.

For Nassau officers, the new maximum pay - not including the longevity bonus - with the first-year hike is $96,129, up from $91,737. At the end of the contract on Dec. 31, 2012, the starting salary for officers, currently frozen at $34,000, will be increased to $45,000 a year. The top pay will be $116,955 as of April 1 of that year. All the raises and longevity increases will take effect April 1 for each year of the pact, although the prior agreement expired Jan. 1.

By contrast, that maximum salary is $23,779 more than the $93,176 NYPD Lieutenants and First Grade Detectives currently get annually. It is also nearly twice the top pay for Police Officers, who receive $59,588 after 5-1/2 years. It should be noted, however, that the pact places Nassau cops more than eight years ahead of their counterparts in the city Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, whose most recent contract expired Aug. 1, 2004.

Nassau Stopped Bleeding

Those aspects of the award will surely continue to leave NYPD officers envious. "It's still a much better job than the New York City cop job, but the important thing is that we stopped the above-inflation wage increases," said Dan McCray, the county's chief negotiator.

He stressed that the blended raise of the award - combining the value to senior officers with the savings further down the pay scale - is 2.96-percent a year, which is nearly a point below the rate of inflation. "That's unprecedented for Long Island police unions," he asserted.

Before the award, Nassau's approximately 1,850 Police Officers earned on average more than $100,000 a year, including overtime and other benefits, according to county officials. Under the new contract, that average salary for veteran cops will likely jump to close to $140,000 once overtime and other benefits are calculated, one city union leader predicted.

That official said the delay in reaching maximum pay in Nassau County might deter some NYPD cops from seeking to transfer. "If you have eight or nine years as a cop in New York City, would it really pay for you to wait eight years for a raise in Nassau?" the union president asked.

Also Don't Get VSF

Nassau County cops, he added, don't receive a variable supplement fund, which veteran NYPD cops can set aside until retirement.

The Nassau arbitration award included multiple concessions in recognition of the county's projected deficits for 2007 and 2008. The arbitration panel ordered that the retroactive pay due April 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2007 be deferred until Jan. 1, 2009. In addition, the retroactive money for the period covering April 1, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2008 will be delayed until Jan. 1, 2010. The portion of those raises for the latter part of each contract year will be paid when due.

The panel, which was headed by John Donohue, also created a new second pay step that freezes the yearly salary for second-year officers at $45,000. Officers in years three through eight of service will receive an annual 1-percent raise, which is far below the 3.64-percent average rate of inflation, although the increments they receive as they move up the pay scale mean their salaries will grow significantly more.

"It's a complicated resolution," said another labor attorney familiar with the award. "The county got some of its concerns addressed and the police got raises."

The lawyer noted that while the raises for newer officers would be only 1 percent a year, those cops still will receive raises of $3,000 or more each year as they move up the scale until they reach maximum pay. "You get a raise just for being on payroll," he remarked.

Suozzi: 'A Radical Break'

County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi hailed the deal as a "radical break from business-as-usual." The new contract, he said, will save taxpayers approximately $90 million over the next six years as a result of the below-inflation raises, limits on termination pay, the relaxation of minimum staffing requirements, and the elimination of duplicate health insurance benefits.

"While we did not achieve everything we sought, we accomplished more than anyone expected," Mr. Suozzi said in a statement issued after the award was announced July 2.

Nassau County Police Benevolent Association President Gary DelaRaba did not return several calls seeking comment.

Mr. Suozzi touted some of the work-rule and benefit changes in the award. County officials are hoping that a cap on its termination pay benefit may encourage more veteran officers to retire sooner, leading to further savings with a younger and less-expensive work force. Until now, some Nassau cops got termination pay of as much as 2-1/2 times their final earnings, including longevity payments; the award sets a cap of twice their earnings, effective in 2009.

'Save More As We Go'

"We expect that we will get more savings as the years go on with respect to that," Mr. McCray said. But he noted that previous changes to the benefit had not had that intended effect.

Currently, officers receive termination pay for unused sick and vacation days when they retire. The provision, however, has cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars per officer.

"There is no doubt Police Officers receive substantial termination payments," the award stated. "In addition, the overall compensation of police officers makes a reduction in termination pay appropriate."

Under the award, termination pay will be cut by 5 percent.

Far Superior to NYPD

Those changes still leave the county's officers with a far superior termination leave benefit than NYPD cops, who receive three days a year regardless of sick leave usage. NYPD officers who work for 20 years are entitled to an average of two months of the earned time benefit, which essentially enables them to leave work for that period before retiring while still being paid.

But many cops and firefighters have actually not been taking that time off before they retire because they want to work as much overtime as possible to increase their pensions, which are equal to 50 percent of their earnings over their final year on the job.

The city's law-enforcement unions backed a bill that would allow the officers to take a monetary payment in lieu of terminal leave time. But the measure was blocked this legislative session after the City Council refused to give it the required home-rule message to send it on to the State Legislature.

The Nassau award also allows police managers to civilianize up to 30 positions throughout the duration of the contract, which will permit the county to place more cops on patrol while reducing personnel costs.

Staffing Change

The panel included Mr. DelaRaba, Mr. McCray, and three neutrals: Mr. Donohue, Martin Scheinman and Howard Edelman.

They also relaxed the "minimum staffing" rules, which required the county to employee officers at certain areas and times. The new rules, the county said, will allow Police Department supervisors to more efficiently deploy patrol officers to respond to crime-fighting needs without incurring costly overtime costs.

Under the deal, the county will also now be able to train officers or conduct emergency drills during regular tours, as opposed to staffing those programs on an overtime basis.

The arbitrators, however, rejected the county's demand to have officers begin contributing towards the premiums of their health insurance. "We note that no other county union currently contributes toward health insurance premiums," the award said. "In addition, we are persuaded there are better ways for the county to save on the cost of health coverage."

'Control Health Costs'

It continued, "We believe the time is right for the parties to recognize the escalating cost of health coverage is a mutual concern. We are persuaded the parties must find a more efficient, more comprehensive and more cost- effective way to provide county workers the health coverage they need and deserve."

As a result, the panel ordered the creation of a committee of union and county officials to "expeditiously survey alternatives for a better, more economical way to provide comparable health coverage to which now exists."

The award set aside $100,000 for the committee to hire the necessary experts to review the situation. Such groups, however, have typically never reached any meaningful compromises.

Mindful of that reality, the panel urged the Nassau PBA to take the lead for the county's other unions. "The economic realities require a more cost-effective healthcare approach," the award said. "We are encouraged this process can be successful given these parties' recognition the status quo cannot be retained over the long haul without severely damaging the county's economic standing."

Ends Dual Coverage

Nassau Comptroller Howard S. Weitzman said that he was "especially pleased" the award eliminated the "highly wasteful practice" of providing duplicate family health insurance policies for officers married to other county employees. That arrangement allowed both husband and wife to obtain a family plan, constantly deferring deductibles and other fees to the other spouse's coverage.

"If labor agreements with the county's other unions follow suit - and I hope they will - county taxpayers will save more than $4 million per year," Mr. Weitzman said in a statement.

The award also gives the department the ability to test officers for the use of steroids as of Jan. 1, 2008. "It is a matter of public record that use of steroids is deleterious to a person's physical and mental health and impairs his or her judgment, all which would negatively impact a police officer's ability to do his or her job," the decision stated.

Currently, the FDNY and NYPD has the ability to test Firefighters who exhibit questionable behavior for steroids.

Dental, Optical Gains

The arbitration panel also ordered the county to contribute $1,200 per active member annually towards a Police Officers' Benefit fund, designed to help cover projected increased costs for optical and dental benefits currently provided. The fund, which will not pertain to retirees, will become effective Jan. 1, 2011.

A labor insider noted that the deal did not radically reduce the monetary items officers care about most: wages and health care. "The most important thing to people is the status of their paycheck and the status of their health insurance, and both of those things were resolved," he remarked.