By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published in print: Friday, January 30, 2009
SCHENECTADY — By making nearly three times his $57,478 annual base salary, Dwayne Johnson has earned a place in the annals of the city police department.
The eight-year patrol officer sits atop a recently released municipal list, laden with fellow cops, of last year's biggest money makers in the city. The $168,921 Johnson was paid makes him the top earner in the department's history, police officials said.
Police department spokesman Sgt. Eric Clifford, said officers at the top of the pay scale earned on average about $10,000 in back pay on top of their base salary and overtime cash.
The 2008 police salaries include two years of retroactive pay, resulting from an arbitrator's ruling in September that set raises for the rank and file in the department for 2006 and 2007.
"It's not uncommon for him to work 16 hours a day to supplement our staffing needs," said Clifford of Johnson's overtime, noting officers are prohibited from working more than 16 hours within a 24-hour period. Johnson declined comment.
Mayor Brian U. Stratton said Thursday that overtime becomes necessary when officers are suspended or the department is undermanned. In the past few months alone, three officers have either been placed on paid or unpaid leave after facing criminal charges.
Five other officers have been on paid leave for over a year stemming from an alleged police brutality case. The five have been cleared of criminal charges but remain out pending the outcome of an internal probe into the matter. Stratton said the overtime issue highlights the need to "fix the contract" to do away with unlimited sick time.
Sgt. Arthur Zampella, who for years earned the most money, slipped to 11th place. He collected $133,869 for 2008.
The two officers are among dozens of city cops who belong to the six figure club.
Lt. Robert Hamilton, Police Benevolent Association president, blamed the overtime on last year's spike in gun violence and the period the department was understaffed.
Schenectady Fire Chief Robert Farstad collected $112,802 while Stratton came in at 74, earning about $97,000 last year.
Name Job title Current Base Salary Gross
Dwayne Johnson Police officer $57,478 $168,921.98
Brian Kilcullen Assistant Police Chief $94,500 $159,957.91
Thomas Delaney Police Officer - Investigator $58,341 $153,975.17
Thomas Adach Police Officer - Investigator $58,341 $148,987.05
Robert Kutil Police Officer - Investigator $58,341 $147,461.50
Keith Schaffer Police Officer – Investigator $58,341 $142,713.97
Matt Hoy Police Sergeant $63,225 $142, 377.51
Patrick Tremante Sewer Maintenance Supervisor $66,308 $141,296.02
We pay tens of billions in bonuses to execs that bankrupt their companies and then ask for a bailout.... What's an extra mere $140k for a guy working in the sewers?
Or for that matter- a couple extra bucks for the guy who puts his life on the line daily.
I love this Sal guy. Sal, why don't you run for office? You would be perfect for the Rotterdam Town Board. I may actually start watching channel 16 if you win.
I love this Sal guy. Sal, why don't you run for office? You would be perfect for the Rotterdam Town Board. I may actually start watching channel 16 if you win.
what makes you think Sal isn't already 'in office'!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I love this Sal guy. Sal, why don't you run for office? You would be perfect for the Rotterdam Town Board. I may actually start watching channel 16 if you win.
Well professor maybe he can sign up for your politics 101 course
SCHENECTADY Police officer’s pay tops in city history BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Schenectady Police Officer Dwayne Johnson’s long hours on the job have placed him in the city’s record books. With his overtime and other earnings, Johnson grossed $168,921 in 2008, which is nearly triple his base pay of $57,478. The patrolman, who is known for working multiple 16-hour shifts each week, replaced Sgt. Arthur Zampella as the city’s top-earning employee and is now considered the highest-earning police officer in city history. “To make that much money, you’re pretty much living here,” Police Chief Mark Chaires said of the officer’s overtime earnings. Johnson’s earnings place him above the previous record set by Police Chief Greg Kaczmarek in 2002. With all of his added earnings included, the former chief grossed $158,981 during his last year in office. But Johnson isn’t the only cop listed among the city’s top-grossing employees in 2008. Excluding Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett, 18 of the 20 topgrossing employees in Schenectady are members of the police force, according to a list released by the city on Friday. In total, 63 city employees grossed more than $100,000 last year, with all but 11 of these workers falling under the Police Department’s budget. Only Bennett, Chaires and Fire Chief Robert Farstad have base salaries that exceed $100,000. Overtime was largely to blame for the inflated police earnings. Chaires said the department was understaffed throughout much of 2008, meaning the overtime registered by the top earners was necessary and would have inevitably gone to someone else on the force anyway. The department was short fi ve officers all last year while officials from the state Attorney General’s Office investigated a claim the officers used excessive force during a drunken driving arrest. All fi ve officers were cleared of all wrongdoing last year but remain off duty pending an internal investigation. In addition, two other officers were suspended for most of 2008, and two were overseas with the National Guard. Four others were on long-term sick leave and 15 new officers hadn’t completed their training. As a result, the department was short 27 officers from the 166 officers that it needs to function optimally. Chairs said the shortage of staffing was coupled with a particularly busy year in the city. “We’re a busy city,” he said. “It’s very important that we have all hands on deck.” Chaires said the outlook for this year might not be much better. He said the department could see as many as 10 retirements this year, meaning overtime could spike again. Officers’ salaries were also augmented by retroactive pay raises in accordance with an arbitrator’s September ruling. Officers received a 4 percent raise, retroactive to 2006 and 2007. In the case of Johnson, the retroactive pay raises tacked an additional $14,626 onto his normal salary. “In addition to all of these absences and all of these circumstances that have created the need for overtime shifts to keep our city safe, there is still the inherent fundamental flaws in the labor contract,” Mayor Brian Stratton said. Both Chaires and Stratton said there is a need to reduce the levels of police overtime. Chaires said he’s expecting to issue a policy that will reduce discretionary overtime in the department. “That’s where we think we can exercise more control,” he said. They also expressed concern over the effect working long hours of overtime might have on officers. Chaires said Johnson would sometimes work three or four 16-hour shifts in a week. “I don’t think it’s healthy physically,” he said. Stratton suggested capping overtime for officers once it reaches 50 percent of their regular salary. But he said such a proposal would never be accepted by Schenectady’s Police Benevolent Association. “Obviously, public safety is our top priority, but we also have a responsibility to make sure we manage our dollars wisely,” he said. Lt. Robert Hamilton, the police union’s president, could not be reached for comment on Friday. Hamilton ranked 15th on the list with gross earnings of $129,908, or nearly twice his annual salary. Despite the high levels of overtime, the Police Department appears to be within its budget for the fourth consecutive year. Stratton said some of the overtime costs were covered through funding from the state’s Operation IMPACT and STOP-DWI grants. Outside of the Police Department, the city’s top-earning employee was Patrick Tremante, a sewer maintenance supervisor with the Department of Public Works. Stratton said Tremante — a longtime city worker whose $141,296 gross pay is ranked eighth overall — has a lot of added earnings built into his job detail. “We’re going to try and restructure that [when Tremante retires], just as we did with the police chief’s job,” he said. Chief Robert Farstad was the Schenectady Fire Department’s top-grossing employee in.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00104
How many hours per day must one work to triple his/her base salary? Assuming that overtime is paid at double time, the salary would suggest 80 hours per week. Assuming further that the individual is working 7 days a week, this equates to over 11 hours per day, every day, each week of the year. Did either Paul Nelson or Justin Mason due any of "the math" in investigating their story?
I realize that the above is based on several assumptions and that there is some back pay included in the reported salaries, but, for this person to earn 3X his base salary would suggest to me that he is either charging both paid time off and overtime during the same shifts or that he is working 12 hours a day with no days off. The first scenario is, IMHO, improper. The second is dangerous to both the officer and the public. Police officers in their highly stressful and physical jobs need time off. There are also quality of life considerations for the officers.
If, as the Chief claims, the overtime hours are needed to be staffed due to a shortage of officers on the force, the city should quickly rule on the cases of those who are on suspension and either return them to duty or dismiss them and refill their spots OR the department needs to determine the necessary level of staffing and hire additional officers.
SHUT UP SHUT UP JUST SHUT UP WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS AFTER THESE HERE BOYS IN BLUE WHO DO THE HARDEST JOBS OF ALL THE WORDS I HAVE FOR YOUR CRITICS IS NOT FIT FOR A FAMILY INTERNET! STOP NOW
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