I gave my opinion .. and I don't feel the need to add anymore.

Let the people of the City of Schenectady make up their own mind on the issue and
vote accordingly.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

the fact is that pension padding is not just something that has or is happening in the city ... it has been
happening in every municipality, county, and even at the state and federal levels  --- and BOTH Republican
and Democratic administrations have participated in the practice

having said that ... it is a practice that MUST be stopped wherever it is occurring

What do you think about wasteful patronage jobs granted for your party loyalty?  For example lets say,,,Deputy Clerk.  And I agree, both parties do it.

How 'bout Kosiur's $80K + created tax paid patronage job for his failed sex offender law and his failed attempt at the assembly race??

Does anyone know how much a firefighter makes (with the exception of Farstad's $100K salary)? Farstad's budget for overtime last year was $450,000 and for 2011 the OT budget amount is $497,000. There is a loss of 14 firefighters....how much of the OT figure could have been spent keeping jobs? Around $50K was for Farstad's OT pension...I'm sure that could have paid for at least one firefighter.

Public safety and fellow firefighter safety put at risk so that some people can pad their pensions?!? Those who participate in this scam should be held accountable when a fellow firefighter is injured or dies. Their greed causes loss of jobs and loss of lives. Shameful!

Quoted from CICERO

What do you think about wasteful patronage jobs granted for your party loyalty?  For example lets say,,,Deputy Clerk.  And I agree, both parties do it.

I hope you are not implying that the post of First Deputy Town Clerk was created for me  -- because the fact
is  ..... State Law allows for a First Deputy to be appointed   (and I had nothing to do with the state adopting
that provision of the law)     and when the Town Board voted to fund that position in Rotterdam .. it was at
the request of the Town Clerk  (not me)  to appoint Michelle Golden  (again, not me) to the position.

I would also disagree with your assertion that the position of Deputy Town Clerk is "wasteful" .

As to whether it is "patronage" to reward me ...   how does paying Michelle Golden to do a job reward me?

Quoted Text

Schenectady firefighters, others used contract terms to boost pensions
By Lauren Stanforth Staff Writer
Published: 12:00 a.m., Thursday, December 2, 2010

SCHENECTADY -- Twenty city employees, most of them firefighters, increased their base salaries by more than $30,000 in the three years before they retired, costing the cash-strapped city $784,281 since 2007, according to an analysis of data provided by the state comptroller's office.

A spotlight first shone on Schenectady pensions when the public learned last month that Fire Chief Robert Farstad was granted the opportunity to make $126,000 in overtime to compensate him for being left out of a more lucrative state pension system.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the governor-elect, also has been working on a statewide report that details how such practices, called pension padding, are costing state taxpayers millions of dollars a year.

The state comptroller's office provided a list to the Times Union of 91 Schenectady city workers who retired between January 2007 and June 2010. Most employees' salaries on the list did not drastically change in the years leading up to their exits. But 20 saw their pay increase by over $30,000 in their last three years, a period that determines most government workers' pensions for the rest of their lives. The increases ranged from $30,601 to $57,928.

The salaries provided by the state were the pay the city reported for the employees according to the state's fiscal year, April 1 to March 30. While such pay can include various forms of compensation, including holiday pay and perks for longevity and specialized work, much of it is often made up of a person's base salary and overtime.

Pension padding isn't illegal and is done in many municipalities across the state. Union contracts often specify that the most senior members, those nearer retirement, be offered overtime first.

"That's their right," said Kathy Finch, Schenectady's personnel and benefits administrator. "These are the legal avenues through their contracts that grant them the ability to do this."

The recent controversy surrounding Farstad's compensation is different than that of the 20 retiring employees on the list because Farstad is an administrator who would normally not receive overtime. Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton said he provided the soon-to-retire chief the opportunity to earn overtime for 2010 and 2011 because the City Council wouldn't move Farstad into the enhanced retirement system that covers other firefighters. Farstad's overtime money for next year has now been taken away.

Pension padding by non-administrative government employees became a recent focus of the attorney general's office. Benefits paid to state and local workers and police and fire employees statewide have nearly doubled in the last decade to $7.3 billion in 2009, some of the highest pension costs in the nation...................>>>>..................>>>>...............http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Schenectady-firefighters-others-used-contract-852459.php

Pension padding isn't illegal-"it's their right" stated Ms. Finch. What about illegal contracts made by the pathetic Mayor to defraud STATE taxpayers-is that the Mayor's right? Give us a break. What about taxpayer rights? The problem is that the entire City Council was derelict in their duties and either knew about this outrage or refused to read the budget. Either way they are all finished. The smart ones have already made exit/retirement plans.

     More working together works! Everyone looking in the opposite direction at the same time. Militant indifference to the taxpayers. Everyday another outrage from the working together all DEM crew. Where is SS Savage on this? Where are the County Legislators? Where is the City GOP Chair? All heading for the tall grasses. First the $314,000 golf pro, then the Mayor's padded travel expenses, then the growing pension padding debacle. No wonder these  idiots can't balance a budget. Had enough-YET?

If there are any 'honest' dems out there, it would  refreshing to hear them come out and not only denounce the mayor's actions, but demand his resignation and call it a CRIME! Guess there aren't any of them either, huh?

Example: You volunteer for a non-profit and they cater a lunch for you and the other volunteers at evey meeting out of the non-profit budget. Sound fishy? Then it is.

Example: You work for a City and they give you a free vehicle to go back and forth to your home in another County. Then you receive a free cell phone to text the fam when you're at work. Sound fishy? Then it is.

Example: You've worked for the City at a base pay for 25+ years. Three years before you retire the City decides to bump up your salary (with overtime) $30K so that you receive a greater pension amount than you really deserve (as your past decades paystubs can attest to). Sound fishy...possibly illegal. Then it is.

Stealing money and falsifying the last three years of your pay......

Quoted from bumblethru

If there are any 'honest' dems out there, it would  refreshing to hear them come out and not only denounce the mayor's actions, but demand his resignation and call it a CRIME! Guess there aren't any of them either, huh?

Let's start with the a protestation from any party. In any other community the City GOP chair would call a news conference demand accountability. Aside from the TU, CBS-6, Talk 1300 and bloggers the silence is deafening. Now Mayor SOS has a new 10 point plan-what a joke! He should resign in disgrace before the State investigation.

Quoted from bumblethru

If there are any 'honest' dems out there, it would  refreshing to hear them come out and not only denounce the mayor's actions, but demand his resignation and call it a CRIME! Guess there aren't any of them either, huh?

Using your logic -- every public official  BOTH Democratic and Republican would have to resign from every
municipality, county, and state in the country  ----- because "pension padding" is a widespread practice ...
a bad practice which should be stopped  .. but technically it is legal .. and as a I have stated is widely practiced
by administrations run by BOTH parties.

There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for the Mayor to resign.   But the voters in the city will have an opportunity
to express their views on the issue when they vote for Mayor next year  -- and I am comfortable in letting
the voters decide that matter.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Using your logic -- every public official  BOTH Democratic and Republican would have to resign from every
municipality, county, and state in the country  ----- because "pension padding" is a widespread practice ...
a bad practice which should be stopped  .. but technically it is legal .. and as a I have stated is widely practiced
by administrations run by BOTH parties.

There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for the Mayor to resign.   But the voters in the city will have an opportunity
to express their views on the issue when they vote for Mayor next year  -- and I am comfortable in letting
the voters decide that matter.

Hey DINGBAT!!!!!   The law mandates paying overtime for people who work more than 40 hours per week.  Therefore, the rank and file firefighters, police, snowplow operators, etc MUST be paid OT when they work in excess of the 40 hours.  And the contracts agreed to by the city and unions give the most senior employees the ability to get OT when additional staffing is needed and then it just happens to be those nearing retirement.  YES, the state law needs to be changed to prevent using the OT when calculating the pension.

[b]But[/b], DV, [b]Chief Farstad WAS PROHIBITED BY LAW from earning OT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   [/b]IT WAS AGAINST THE LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your dem buddy Stratton made a SECRET
DEAL with Farstad to pay in OT ---- that WAS ILLEGAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!      

YOUR dem buddy Stratton VERY CAREFULLY, WILLFULLY AND DELIBERATELY violated the law AND he tried to keep it a secret !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

While Pat Z, as far as I know, was not the person responsible for discoverying this secret it is thanks to Pat for her working tirelessly for many years in her watchdog methods, for SHE is the original very vocal voice for pushing for transparency in government.   Do you remember how SHE was the one made known the fact that STratton was ILLEGALLY giving himself a raise and how tirelessly she worked gathering all the facts on permissive referendum to make sure the taxpayers were the ones to make the decision rather than Stratton doing it in secret.  Of course you wouldn't want to acknowledge that

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

.

Let the people of the City of Schenectady make up their own mind on the issue and
vote accordingly.

Oh so YOU believe that its perfectly OK for an elected official to stay in office even though the official violated a law, right?  

Quoted from mikechristine1

Oh so YOU believe that its perfectly OK for an elected official to stay in office even though the official violated a law, right?  

Well, DUH ... he still supports Eunice, 'nuff said.

http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/10/13/former-niagara-falls-mayor

10/13/2010

Niagara Falls mayor pleads guilty to IBEW benefit theft ("[Former Mayor Anello] plead guilty in Buffalo Federal Court to submitting false claims of pension benefits through his union... He faces a sentence of at least ten months and a restitution order of up to $120,000.")

Maybe this is a Federal issue, not simply a local one.