Sgts. Scramble
Retro Pay Not Yet in Checks

By REUVEN BLAU

NYPD Sergeants discovered last week that they will have to wait a little longer than expected until they receive more than two years' worth of retroactive pay under their contract negotiated in July.

ED MULLINS: Snafu creates big problems.

The 4,623 Sergeants were in most cases scheduled to get roughly $10,000 in retro money - minus taxes - in their Sept. 20 checks, but the city's Office of Payroll Administration "erred" in calculating the added money, according to the Sergeants Benevolent Association. Sergeants now must wait until their Oct. 4 paycheck, the SBA said.

Deferred Comp-lications

Many Sergeants had instructed the NYPD's payroll division to increase their Deferred Compensation Plan contributions for their retro paycheck as a way to minimize the tax hit that they would absorb on the one-time hike. The fund is completely tax-deferred until employees begin to receive the benefit at retirement.

Those Sergeants were scrambling last week to switch back to their regular contribution rate, which can normally be up to 25 percent of their gross pay, unless it involves a retro check. Officers stuck with the increased contribution could be left with little money to pay for basic expenses from their regular paycheck, insiders pointed out.

'Could Be Real Trouble'

"You have people that are living check to check to begin with, and here they think they can pay their kids' tuition this week, but suddenly they hear they won't be getting money three days before," said SBA spokesman Bob Mladinich. "It could be real trouble."

SBA President Ed Mullins said he was working with the Office of Labor Relations to "minimize the negative effects" of the payroll mishap. All one-time deferred comp changes and/or recurring changes that were set to be implemented for the Sept. 20 pay period will be cancelled and will be rescheduled for the Oct. 4 check, he said on the union's Web site.

In addition, any amendments that SBA members had earmarked for the Oct. 4 paycheck will now automatically be implemented in their Oct. 18 paychecks.

Some Got It on Time

The SBA noted that Sergeants who were promoted after April 1, 2006 who did not a make a one-time change to their deferred comp withholdings actually were supposed to receive their retro pay on Sept. 20. Everyone else will receive their back pay in the Oct. 4 paycheck, according to the SBA.

Mr. Mullins said he planned to discuss the issue with Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and the city's payroll executives "to conduct a complete review of the payroll system to insure that the payment of holiday and nightshift retro will be paid without mishap."

On Aug. 6, SBA members voted overwhelmingly to ratify the 74-month contract reached four weeks earlier with the Bloomberg administration that will give them raises totaling 24 percent and, with longevity pay included, brings basic pay for veteran supervisors above $100,000.

The contract, which is one of the longest deals ever negotiated by a city union, runs from June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2011.