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SCHENECTADY
City Council poised to end large retirement bonuses
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    The City Council is moving to put an end to retirement bonuses for assistant police chiefs, who occasionally collected a last-minute payment that increased their pensions.
    The system went without notice for decades until Fire Chief Robert Farstad attempted to use it to nearly double his pension. When council members found out, they took steps to stop him and vowed to keep any other supervisors from padding their pensions.
    In the police department, chiefs and assistant chiefs are sometimes given the equivalent of 240 hours of overtime — six weeks — when they retire.
    Council members said they were surprised to learn of the traditional payment because those supervisors are not eligible for overtime. They are paid a fl at salary to work whenever they are needed.
    The council held a public hearing Monday on whether to put an end to the payments, as well as standardizing benefits in many other ways. No one spoke at the hearing, which council members took as an indication that the public supports their plan.
    The plan will also put an end to “different deals worked by different councils and different mayors,” Acting Mayor Gary McCarthy said. “You won’t have anything that’s subject to variance by people. It’s not subject to remembering some side deal.”
    All assistant chiefs will have the same salary scale, with a modifi ed longevity scale, and a limit on saving up sick days for a retirement payout.
    “It’ll be in the city code. It won’t be subject to interpretation,” McCarthy said. “Everyone will know what the benefi ts and salaries are. There’s no big payouts at the end. There’s none of the overtime at the end.”
    Council members support the plan but postponed their vote because the state now allows them to place similar limits on police and fire chiefs. They may add them to the plan next week and vote on it July 25.
    In other business, McCarthy announced that Seward Place will close Thursday and remained closed until workers fi nish rebuilding the crumbling street.
    “It will expedite the construction,” McCarthy said. “It will minimize the disruption, although we know it will cause some hardship.”
    About 5,000 vehicles use the road daily, according to city Engineer Paul Cassillo.
    The street is in such bad shape that it must be redesigned and completely rebuilt, at a cost of $570,000 — enough to repave three or four other streets.
    McCarthy said he asked Union College President Stephan Ainlay to chip in money for the street, which runs adjacent to the college. Many of the properties on the street are owned by Union.
    “The college, at this point, has decided not to contribute anything to the city on a regular basis,” Mc-Carthy said. .........................>>>>.......................>>>>......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00902&AppName=1

Kathleen Moore really has to tone down her blatant love-lust for McCarthy. Union is not stupid, why would they give MORE money to the City when they just shelled out $40K to open the pools?

How about this Moore McCarthy, ask Proctors and MVP why they haven't contributed to the City? Maybe Bombers could help out seeing as they can buy billboards in Albany but can't help fix the roads in the City they do business in (tax-free).