http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-licops152625422mar15.story

$100,000 Crime Fighters

Cops' pay puts Nassau in financial bind, Suozzi says

By Edward W. Lempinen
STAFF WRITER

March 15, 2002

Eugene Albanese made $100,001.44 as a Nassau County police officer last year, but even though he broke the six-figure barrier, he's below average in a department where officers are among the highest paid in the nation.

In a year when the average cop's pay passed $100,000 for the first time, Albanese achieved a distinction that would be possible almost nowhere but Long Island. Though his salary would be the envy of many wage-earners, he ranked only 1,292nd among Nassau police officers.

According to a Newsday study of Nassau police pay, the average compensation paid to nearly 2,800 officers last year reached $101,935.79. At the same time, average termination pay for retiring officers hit $221,682, nearly double the average of 1996.

Those trends solidify the ranking of Nassau police among the most well-paid cops in the nation and they are alarming elected officials and others who have warned for years that escalating police pay is a crucial factor in Nassau's chronic fiscal crisis.

"This is one of the many problems the county faces, but it's a very serious one," said County Executive Thomas Suozzi. "It's got to stop going up. We simply can't afford it anymore."

"The numbers are staggering," agreed Legis. Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa), leader of the minority Republicans.

Both Suozzi and Schmitt stopped short of attacking the police, instead blaming former County Executive Thomas Gulotta for being too generous at the bargaining table.

With contracts expired for three police unions and Suozzi struggling to close a projected deficit of up to $428 million by 2005, police pay has become a target of political attacks and public ire.

Gulotta did not return a call seeking comment, and efforts to reach Albanese were unsuccessful. Union leaders vigorously defended police pay and noted that it was inflated last year by overtime required after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

High salaries "keep corruption at bay," said Gary DelaRaba, president of the Police Benevolent Association. "It raises the quality of our recruits. ... When you call the police department for help, you get someone reasonably intelligent to help you out or solve your problem."

County officials acknowledge that Sept. 11 overtime contributed to the pay spike. Suozzi administration officials and other budget experts, however, say Gulotta failed to take a tough stand with unions; in the past, Gulotta claimed he had little leverage because police could go to binding arbitration.

In 1997, an arbitrator awarded the Police Benevolent Association a compounded raise of 24.1 percent from 1996 to the end of 2000. That pushed base pay for the typical officer to about $72,000.

Base pay makes up less than two-thirds of an officer's compensation. For instance, an officer with 25 years of experience would get longevity pay of $5,200 in 1996; that rose to $7,200 by 2000. Officers who work the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift get a 10 percent night bonus for every hour worked after 11 a.m. A seemingly modest change in the calculation of termination pay dramatically increased payouts to retirees.

In a side agreement to the 1997 award, the arbitrator gave union officers supplemental pay to compensate for union work outside the normal schedule and to make up for their loss of overtime opportunities.

County records show those factors and others gave the police total taxable income and termination pay of $318.9 million last year - up 28.4 percent, or $70.6 million - from 1996.

Overtime rose 91.9 percent from 2000, to $26.4 million last year; about $6.5 million of that was linked to the terrorist attacks, according to Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman.

A total of 1,292 officers, 46.2 percent of the force, made more than $100,000 in taxable income last year, not including equipment and clothing allowances.

The highest-paid cops last year were Sgt. Nicholas Baudo, president of the Superior Officers Association, at $200,974.03, and Det. Robert Howell, president of the Nassau Detectives Association, at $195,164.36.

Labor and county officials said the list is misleading because union leaders last year received a substantial back-pay check under the arbitrator's overtime-replacement ruling.

Baudo said his pay usually ranks in the lower third of supervising officers, and that he got $61,000 to cover the payments due for 4 1/2 years. He was unapologetic, saying he had started on the force in 1964 at an annual salary of $5,600.

"It's taken me 38 years to get where I am," he said. "I'm not complaining, but people don't like to look at the whole picture."

Howell insisted that detectives' salaries are justified, saying they routinely work overtime without pay because of their devotion to public safety.

"I don't live any better than anybody else does," he said. "I've got a middle-class house. I've got a middle-class car. My kids went to public schools. I'm struggling just like anybody else does."

Like the salary trends, costs rose dramatically to pay off retiring officers for accumulated personal days, vacation, sick time and longevity-based severance. In 1996, county records show, 105 officers collected a total of $12.4 million in termination pay, or an average of $118,006. Last year, Nassau paid 116 retiring officers $25.7 million, an average of $221,682.

Matthew Crosson, president of the Long Island Association, called called police compensation "out of control."

"This is a burden on the county I think people will find shocking," said Crosson, who served a decade as New Yorks' chief administrative judge before joining the business group.

DelaRaba, however, insisted that "salaries are the last thing that people discuss" when police are helping them in emergencies. Besides, he said, the escalating salaries are deceiving. Police costs take up about a quarter of Nassau's budget, he said, a figure that has held steady for years.

"If it's been that way for a generation," he said, "I don't see a reason to change it."

Staff writer Stacey Altherr contributed to this story.

Top Dollar

According to a Newsday study of Nassau County police pay the average compensation paid to nearly 2,800 officers last year surpassed $100,000 for the first time, solidifying their reputation as among the best-paid cops in the nation.

- A new cop out of the academy makes a little over $43,000.

- Average base pay is $72,000. (base pay is without overtime, night differential or any available perks.)

- Overtime is calculated on a daily basis. In other words, if a normal shift is 12 hours and the cop works 12, he gets one hour of O.T. It's not calculated on a weekly basis, i.e., an excess of over the regular weekly hours.

- Average police compensation not including termination pay rose 31.6 percent from 1996, to $101.936 in 2001.

46.3 percent of officers, from patrol through commissioner made more than $100,000 in 2001.

1996

2,981 - Number of officers

381 - Number of police officers making over $100,000

2000

2,918 - Number of officers

836 - Number of police officers making over $100,000

2001

2,796 - Number of officers

1,292 - Number of police officers making over $100,000

A look at the top 10 in 2001. Salary does not include termination pay.

Name Title Salary

Baudo, Nicholas J. Detective $200,974.03

Howell, Robert G. Detective $195,164.36

Sharkey, Robert M. Lieutenant $183,790.20

Comeu, Lawrence Lieutenant $182,983.57

Guidice, Frank B Detective $182,223.03

DelaRaba, Gary D. Police Officer $179,225.94

Allen, Stephen J. Detective $176,344.54

Willet, William J. Commissioner $172,974.49

Bruckbauer, Jr. G.W. Sergeant $172,274.50

Walsh, Daniel L. Detective $171,629.35

*includes a one-time lump sum settlement from an arbitrator for lost overtime and union duties.