Town Council Flexes Its Muscle And Tables SAG Agreement

At Tuesday’s Town Board meeting Councilwoman Lynne Nowick made a motion to table the Supervisor’s labor agreement (memorandum of agreement or MOA) with the Smithtown Administrators Guild (SAG). SAG represents town department chairs and deputy department heads. The motion to table was seconded by Councilman Wehrheim. A vote was taken and in a three-two decision (Nowick, Creighton and Wehrheim for tabling – McCarthy and Vecchio opposed) the memorandum of agreement (MOA) was tabled. 

The MOA is a two-year agreement beginning Jan. 1,2015 ending Dec. 31, 2016. It allows for a 1.4% annual salary increase. There are also salary increases for several of the SAG members with increases ranging from $5,000 - $7,500. 

According to Councilman Wehrheim, the Supervisor negotiated the MOA with Russ Barnett, president of SAG, without input from council members and that the true cost of the agreement is close to  $400,000.  In addition, both Creighton and Wehrheim are not happy with the time line.  Neither Councilmember knew anything about the status of the negotiations before receiving notification of the Town Board vote scheduled for Tuesday, February 3.  “The agreement had been signed by the Supervisor and Barnett on Jan. 9  and it was approved by SAG members before we learned of its existence at the end of January,” said Councilman Wehrheim.  

Included in the contract  is a very reasonable 1.4 percent salary increase according to Supervisor Vecchio, who spoke with the press after the Board meeting.  Vecchio acknowleged being miffed that former Town Comptroller Lou Necroto had sent an e-mail to all board members urging them to reject the MOA, implying that funds were not available to pay for the agreement. Mr. Necroto was recruited to fill a County position by Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy and ended his employment with the Town in January.

Vecchio was emphatic that the funding ($125,000) was put in the budget by Necroto at his request. A second e-mail by Necroto clarified his position. According to the Supervisor and councilmen (which councilman) the email indicated that funding for the MOA was set aside in contingency accounts in the 2015 Town Budget.

Councilman Wehrheim, in a conversation after the board meeting, said that although the 1.4 percent increase seemed reasonable, also in the agreement were salary adjustments for certain SAG  members (worth between $5,000 to $7,500 to recipients)  and he would like to know why they are getting increases.   “1.4 percent sounds reasonable, but then consider that there are immediate salary adjustments and step increases coming in July. I would like to know more about how these salary adjustments came to be. The Supervisor has even included a $5,000 increase in the salary for the director of the Animal Shelter. The very same position we are investigating.”

Also, according to Councilman Wehrheim, missing from the MOA is any mention of Department heads documenting their hours of work.  Last year the town implemented a new computerized system for payroll hand scanning. But there is a void because members of SAG do not participate. According to both Councilmen Creighton and Wehrheim this was to be part of the negotiation. In addition there were other suggestions made to the Supervisor that were not included and they would like to know why not?  

According to Wehrheim, these are real issues that transcend the usual political nonsense that is the norm at Town Hall.  How does all of this get resolved? Common sense seems to indicate that discussions amongst the five board members is the answer.