By Paul Nelson Published 3:14 pm, Thursday, January 23, 2014
Schenectady
Retiring Fire Chief Michael Della Rocco is going out on top in more ways than one.
Della Rocco, who is leaving at the end of the month after 31 years with the department, was the highest paid city employee in 2013, in a list replete with police officers, according to city records obtained by the Times Union under the Freedom of Information Act.
The recently released payroll information shows Della Rocco collected $164,985 with a base salary of $140,535.
After Della Rocco, the next 27 highest money makers are cops.
All told, 82 city employees made over $100,000 in 2014.
When a reporter informed Della Rocco Wednesday that he made the most money of all city staff last year, the chief was initially stunned.
"You surprised me with that one," said Della Rocco.
The chief later explained that the roughly $24,450 difference is from a payout of vacation, longevity, holiday and sick pay that he racked up during his 10 years as assistant fire chief.
"It's not OT. It's simply the accumulated earning from when I was assistant chief," said Della Rocco, noting that the payout cash won't pad his pension.
In second place for 2013, Lt. Mark McCracken, who serves as the city police spokesman, increased his $84,121 base salary, boosting his pay with overtime cash to $151,247.
In 2012, McCracken doubled his annual base pay, collecting $171,423 to become the biggest money maker ever in the department's history.
Rounding out the top five with the most take home pay last year are two deputy police chiefs, Michael Seber and Jack Falvo, police Lt. Eric Clifford. Mayor Gary McCarthy said Seber and Falvo also received payouts, a practice the city is ending.
Della Rocco routinely shows up at fires assisting his firefighters and providing updates to the media.
More recently, he said he spent the night of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas at a conflagration that injured two people and destroyed three homes on Moyston Street.
"It's part of my job to put in long hours at no additional pay," said DellaRocco.
One municipal employee who more than doubled his annual base salary is Albert DelGiacco, a senior public safety dispatcher, who earned $105, 410 last year. His base pay is $46,412.
McCarthy said public safety doesn't come cheap and that maintaining the appropriate staffing levels to fight crime and battle blazes sometimes means paying overtime.
"The nature of police and fire work is you've got to have people on duty." the mayor said.
Still, he conceded he would like to bring down overtime costs.
"Yes, I would like the numbers to be lower, but unfortunately that's what it is," he added. "They are high-paid professions who deliver a high level of service."
THIS IS WHAT'S WRONG WITH SCHENECTADY'S FINANCIAL MESS. WHEN YOU HAVE CITY EMPLOYEES MAKING MORE MONEY THAN THE MAYOR WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM PLUS OUTRAGEOUS OVERTIME PAY. TO BAD MCCARTHY WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE IS IN BED WITH THE FIRE AND POLICE UNIONS. WE NEED A NEW MAYOR THAT WILL REIGN IN ON OVERTIME. FORCE LONG TIME WORKERS OUT OF THE DOOR AND HIRE NEW WORKERS AT LOWER STARTING SALARIES! THEN WE CAN START SAVING MONEY FOR CITY TAXPAYERS AND LOWERING TAXES!
I read a similar report about the police and fire dept in the city of Gloversville in today's LH.
Quoted Text
The top-paid employee was Fire Battalion Chief David Rackmyre, who earned nearly $90,000 last year, including more than $21,000 in overtime pay and compensation for safety staffing, according to city records.
Police Chief Donald VanDeusen was the second highest-paid employee in the city, earning $88,500. VanDeusen also had the second-highest gross earnings in 2012, when he earned $87,563.
Rackmyre earned more than Fire Chief Beth Whitman-Putnam, who was the third-highest paid city employee in 2013. She earned $87,500.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Of that high paid list, how many pay Schenectady's high property and school taxes?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Get ready for an overtime explosion on the Operations side. Olsen will let OT explode because he didnt get his way.
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
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What you failed to list is that the top five list out of Gloversville pales in comparison to those salaries in Schenectady.
Schenectadys top salaries are practically double than those top earners in Gloversville.
"The top five highest-paid Gloversville employees in 2013 (gross earnings listed):
1. Fire Battalion Chief David Rackmyre: $89,749 (includes $21,743 in overtime and safety staffing pay, along with $8,162 in holiday/personal time buyouts and longevity).
2. Police Chief Don VanDeusen: $88,500.
3. Fire Chief Beth Whitman-Putnam: $87,500 (includes a $2,500 stipend).
4. Police Capt. John Sira: $81,437 (includes $8,275 in holiday pay and buyouts, along with $5,513 in overtime, longevity, command and college pay).
5. Detective Sgt. Mike Jory: $80,580 (includes $9,988 in overtime, along with $7,566 in holiday pay and holiday and compensatory time buyouts, plus an additional $3,060 in college, command, longevity and on call pay)."
In Schenecatdy,
"Top 5 city earners in 2013
Name Job Title Current Salary Gross
Michael Della Rocco Fire Chief $140,535 $164,985
Mark McCracken Police lieutenant $84,121 $158,310
Michael Seber Assistant police chief $130,081 $156,940
Jack Falvo Assistant police chief $130,081 $154,611
Re the Jan. 22 article, “Pay raises spark heated Schenectady council debate”: I feel that with the city’s current fi nancial situation, supervisors shouldn’t get raises of 3 percent to 4 percent. I am also opposed to any supervisor or manager getting a 40 percent raise. City employees, who are a part of Local 1037, had gone three years without a pay raise. Finally this year, the hard-working employees in the street department, water department, waste department, parks department and others (the employees that keep the city running every day) are receiving a 1 percent raise. Everybody is making sacrifi ces. The city employees who live in the city and are taxpayers shouldn’t have to go without while a few managers and supervisors are getting more. I agree with the fi nance commissioner that the City Council should turn down any proposal for these raises.
ADAM ARMOUR Schenectady The writer is union president of AFSCME Local
I know one the people on that list. Went to school with him. He was a clown, nice guy, but a goof off. How is it that the biggest screw offs in high school always end up cops? Anywho...I know he lives in Niskayuna. I don't know about his reasons behind it, but other police I know who have kids are afraid that their children may be targets if they are in the schenectady schools. They move to the suburbs or put their kids in private schools. I can't blame them, their kids shouldn't have to be at higher risk because if their parent's job.
There should be no raises in the city at all, until ALL city heads live in the city.
BIG THUMNS UP !!!
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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