The City of Schenectady is accepting applications for the position of Public Safety Commissioner in the Police Department. Please provide salary requirements. For job description and minimum qualifications, contact Kathy Finch (contact info. above).
Completed applications/resumes along with salary requirements need to be received in the Personnel & Benefits Administrator's office by 4:00 PM on April 23, 2009.
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.
Commissioner Bennett's job posted due to civil service law 04/14/2009 03:40 PM By: Steve Ference
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- A job opening in the City of Schenectady is causing quite a stir.
The mayor's office has received a number of calls from folks trying to figure out if Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett is leaving the job he's held for two years. That's because there's a listing on the City of Schenectady's website for a public safety commissioner. The ad says there is a full-time opening in the police department. All applicants need to do is provide salary requirements and a resume.
But city officials say this doesn't mean Commissioner Bennett is retiring or being forced out. They said the former superintendent of the New York State Police has nothing to worry about. Bennett got the Schenectady job in 2007, overseeing the police department to try and turn it around after a string of arrests of police officers in the city for everything from DWI to sleeping on the job.
Mayor Brian Stratton said, "There is nothing to be concerned about. We think we have an excellent commissioner...It's part of the law and something we have to go through every two years."
According to city officials, Bennett has to have a waiver which allows him to get his retirement benefits for his years spent with the State Police as well as his current city pay. City officials tell us the arrangement saves them money by having an experienced commissioner - but because of the waiver, it's simply state civil service law that the job must be posted. We're told Bennett won't have to reapply.
Mayor Stratton said he has absolute faith in Commissioner Bennett, though they will have to look at other applicants.
Ah, double dipping, actually, I remember now. The former Comm Mills was doing that, everyone liked him except Duci and Duci kicked him out,
Thanks
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.
SCHENECTADY City plans to keep its commissioner BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.
For one week only, any qualifi ed law enforcement personnel can apply for the job of Schenectady public safety commissioner. But city officials are hoping no one better than Commissioner Wayne Bennett applies. The city can only continue to pay Bennett if it can prove that he is the best possible candidate for the job. That’s because Bennett is “doubledipping:” receiving taxpayer money through a state pension while also getting paid to run the city’s police and fire departments. Bennett got a waiver from the double-dipping rule two years ago so he could take the commissioner position. He must get a new waiver from the state Civil Service Commission by May 7, when his current waiver expires. The waiver rule is what brought down the city’s most popular police commissioner, Charlie Mills. Mayor Karen Johnson signed the waiver, saying Mills was the city’s best chance for proper police supervision. But when it came time to renew the waiver, new Mayor Frank Duci refused to sign. History will not repeat itself this time, city consultant John Paolino said. Bennett wants to continue working for the city and Mayor Brian U. Stratton wants to keep him, Paolino said. “We are, without a doubt, 100 percent pleased with the performance of Commissioner Bennett,” Paolino said. In fact, city officials have already applied for the new waiver, Paolino said. That’s why the city began advertising for applicants. “We need to be able to demonstrate the person is the most qualified,” Paolino said. “We’re following all the rules and regulations.” Without fanfare, the city put an employment notice on its Web site, but did not list the job description or minimum qualifications. Candidates must apply by April 23, which is one week away. Paolino said city officials will interview all serious applicants. But, he added, the plan is to keep Bennett. “There is no desire on the commissioner’s part to leave and no desire on the mayor’s part for him to leave,” Paolino said. Bennett is on vacation this week. When he returns, he has a series of disciplinary hearings scheduled in which city prosecutors intend to ask him to fire six officers.
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