Employment contract lacking in probe of Lackawanna police chief’s compensation
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...ation-20151018


Lackawanna lawmakers looking into vacation and sick time benefits paid to Police Chief James L. Michel Jr. have yet to receive a copy of his employment contract.

The reason is simple, said Assistant City Attorney James Balcarczyk II.

“The City of Lackawanna is not in possession of contracts with the chief of police since 1990,” Balcarczyk said in response to a state Freedom of Information Law request from attorney John P. Gaughan, who represents the City Council in the investigation of the police chief.

Michel’s salary had been governed by a municipal law, City Attorney Antonio M. Savaglio said in a letter to Council President Henry R. Pirowski Jr. in 2014.

A section of that law provided that a police chief’s salary would be increased when the salary of the highest-ranking subordinate was increased, Savaglio stated.

But the State Legislature repealed that law in 2011, Savaglio noted.

So by default, Michel’s salary and benefits should be governed by the City Charter pertaining to nonbargaining employees, according to the city attorney, who has since recused himself from the investigation.

Attorney Howard B. Cohen, who represents Michel, said the payment issue is a matter of law.

“We have a dispute on a legal issue over the interpretation of an employment agreement contract as to whether Chief Michel was entitled to continuing benefits under 207-m,” Cohen said, referring to the law that was repealed. “There may be overpayment. There may not be, but that’s a legal issue.”

Cohen added that “Chief Michel is someone with integrity. This situation is unfortunate for the Police Department and the citizens of Lackawanna.”

Some city officials said the police chief was overpaid $36,000 in vacation and sick time from 2011 to 2013. The payments stopped after they were flagged by the city comptroller.

“What’s interesting here is that the fire chief has a contract,” said a source close to the investigation. “You would think the police chief would concur. Because 207-m was repealed, Lackawanna as a municipality must decide whether to provide a contract or continue to apply the charter. There is no criminality here. The objective is to simply recoup city funds.”

Michel’s situation is similar to that of many police chiefs who rose through the ranks, said Leonard A. Matarese, a former police chief and public safety director experienced in human resources administration.

“There doesn’t have to be a contract,” said Matarese, former commissioner of human resources for the City of Buffalo. “In New York, you have to come through the ranks, and at one point, he was part of a union. So he earned these benefits; he should be able to continue receiving them.”

“But there should be some type of legislation adopted by the City Council that spells out the situation,” Matarese said.

Lawmakers in the Town of Tonawanda and Amherst approve resolutions for their police chiefs that set forth salaries and benefits.

The Tonawanda Town Board approves salaries and benefits by resolution for town officials – including Police Chief Jerome C. Uschold – and other employees not covered by collective-bargaining agreements, said Joseph H. Emminger, deputy town supervisor.

The employment and benefits received by Amherst Police Chief John C. Askey Jr. were approved by a compensation resolution passed in 2014 that tied salary adjustments and benefits to Amherst Police Club collective-bargaining agreements, said Supervisor Barry Weinstein.

Michel is a member of the board of governors of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, representing Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties.