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Legislator Trotta Explains His Abstention On Superior Officers Contract
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 10:01PM ;)
Suffolk County Legislator Robert Trotta 13LDSaying he felt boxed in between a contract that is unsustainable and the possibility of the negotiations going to an arbitrator, Smithtown’s Legislator Robert Trotta, 13th LD, abstained from voting on the Superior Officers Association’s contract. The contract received overwhelming support from Suffolk County’s other Legislators. The resolution passed the Legislature with a vote of 17 yes, 0 no, and 1 abstention. According to Robert Lipp the director of the Budget Review Office, the contract which will be in effect through 2018 is estimated to cost taxpayers $55.4 million of which $12.2 million attributed to the General Fund and $43.2 million to the Police District.
Earlier today Leg.Trotta expressed his concerns to Smithtown Matters. “I believe strongly that the officers deserve a raise. They have not received a raise in three years and that is not right, but this contract provides the members of the Superior Officers Association (SOA) a 28.2% pay raise. That is unsustainable.
Legislator Trotta supports some components of the contract including a longer time frame for new hires to get to the top pay-grade and employee contributions to their health-care costs.
Trotta’s office released the following statement :
At the March 4 General Meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature, Legislator Rober Trotta abstained from voting on the Superior Officers Association’s contract. In explaining his abstention, Legislator Trotta said, “I feel I need to point out that the proposed contract is simply unsustainable and unfair to the taxpayers of this county. When it comes to voting on a contract such as this one, I feel that we, as Legislators, have been placed in a “no win” situation.
This contract, when coupled with existing contracts, is something that this county simply can’t afford. “This is clearly evident because the Democratic State Comptroller, in his November 29,2013 Fiscal Stress Monitoring System, reports that Suffolk County is in worse shape than Nassau County. In the past two years, we had to sell the H. Lee Dennison Building at a taxpayer cost o $108 million dollars, took $33 million from the Sewer Stabilization Reserve Fund and borrowed $151 million to pay pension costs just to, hopefully, balance the last two budgets. Based on this ominous trend, how are we going to pay for the deferred raises in these contracts that may require a potential $120 million dollar payout in three of four years from now?
“We only need to look at Nassau County’s situation for what could happen to us and the last thing we need is having all county employees with frozen salaries,” said Legislator Trotta.
If I voted yes for this new contract, it would provide members of the Superior Officers Association with a 28.2% pay raise. In comparison, the Association of Municipal Employees, the county’s largest union, are receiving a total 9% pay increase over an eight-year period, which is just slightly more than the 8.35% the Superior Officers will receive this year alone.
“This during a time when the median family income for Suffolk County actually fell .05% to $71,222 from 2000 to 2012 (adjusted for inflation),” according to Dr. Martin Cantor of the Long Island Center for Scoio-Economic Policy.
“If I voted “no” for this contract, we might have ended up in binding arbitration which, based on past awards, may have cost our taxpayers even more,” Trotta added.
Legislator Trotta said, “I am not trying to single out the Superior Officers - this contract is just the latest in a series of law enforcement agreements that have come before this legislative body, but it is the first one that has come before me. I know first-hand the outstanding job that all police officers do and I certainly recognize that they deserve a fair contract that provides for fair increases in line with the cost of living.”
Reader Comments (10)
You were elected to make decisions on behalf of the residents in your district. That is your job. You were not hired to abstain which renders your constituents voiceless. If you cannot stomach making difficult decisions, or you cannot come up with viable alternative action for the legislature to act on, perhaps this is not the right job for you.
Mr. Trotta, you may not realize this but you are now an elected official. No one is asking for your opinion, they are asking you to make a decision. Playing safe is the sign of weakness. Don't waste your seat if there is someone else out there that has the smarts and strength to make a decision. Very disappointing.
Mr. Trotta should have voted "No" there is no moral high ground in abstaining. Sue (received as an email)
I've been in Smithtown for 45 years and have seen all types of politicians come and go. This gentleman has all the earmarks of a one term office holder in my opinion for the reasons cited by the comments above which I agree with and other things I have heard about him which I am not sure if they are true or not.
The guy explains that either way he votes the cops get a big raise and our taxes go up and he has the integrity to stand up to the unions when not one of the other Legislators does and you criticize him? Please educate your self to the facts, he put himself out there for us the taxpayer!
He "put himself out there" by abstaining? A statement like that can only come from a truly loyal friend. Absurd.
Mr. Trotta, please resign.
I'm sick and tired of these people who run for office as a so called outsider, then once elected, they behave like every other politician out there. This is a prime example. All this guy cares about is getting reelected now so he can continue collecting his hefty police pension plus 100k as a legislator - probably over 200k total on the taxpayers back. He does not have the fortitude to make difficult decisions that could jeopardize his very comfortable situation so he simply abstains. Just like a professional politician.
If I voted yes for this new contract, it would provide members of the Superior Officers Association with a 28.2% pay raise.
“If I voted “no” for this contract, we might have ended up in binding arbitration which, based on past awards, may have cost our taxpayers even more,” Trotta added.
I think the point he was trying to bring out that either way the taxpayer lose....
This never would have gone to arbitration - they only needed 10 votes for it to pass. His one vote did not matter and surely he had to know that - I assume he's up on the procedures related to voting in the Suffolk County Legislature. So what was the real motive behind the abstention? What Legislator Trotta seems not to realize is that his vote gives a voice to his constituents - by abstaining from a vote his constituents have been silenced. Surely the voters in his district voted him in to do more than collect cans of dog food and squeaky toys for a pet drive. Get to work Mr. Trotta!