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Superior Officers Association

Police Department of Nassau County, New York

 

Police Department County of Nassau, New York

Superior Officers Association Police Department of Nassau County, New York -  

Superior Officers Association Police Department of Nassau County, New York

 
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Brian Hoesl,  First Vice President
E-mail: Nassoa@aol.com

Superior Officers Association Police Department of Nassau County, New York

 Nassau County Elections

 November brought a dramatic change to the face of politics in Nassau County.  The Republican Party swept the elections here and not only did they achieve the majority in the County Legislature but they also won back the County Executive seat.  In our many dealings over the past eight years with the Legislature we enjoyed a good working relationship with Diane Yatauro, Judy Jacobs and the former Democratic Majority and we appreciate their past support.  We look forward to working with the new Republican Majority and their leader, Peter Schmitt.  Pete has always had an open door policy with us and we are confident that this relationship will continue.

 The County Executive race was a real nail-biter and we were very happy to see Ed Mangano, the former County Legislator from Bethpage, emerge victorious.  We had endorsed Ed in his bid for County Executive and wish him much success in what I am sure will be a challenging task, but one that I am confident he can accomplish.   In addition, Ed appointed Rob Walker, a former NYS Assemblyman and a friend from Albany, to the post of Chief Deputy County Executive.  Rob was always a pleasure to deal with while in the Assembly and I am sure his pleasant demeanor will continue.  While we acknowledge that fiscal constraints will remain a real problem for the County for at least the short term, we believe that there will be a much better line of communication between our Union and the County Executive’s Office.  We have already had very positive meetings with them, which we greatly appreciate.  In addition, I am sure that any future interactions, even when we disagree, will be much less painful! 

 

Legislation Update - Albany

The 2010 Legislative Session has commenced in Albany and our committee has begun the yearly six-month grind of meeting with our State Representatives in order to promote our agenda and protect our benefits.  Unfortunately this year I think we will spend more time in a defensive posture than an offensive one.  The State has serious problems, there is little money to spend, and lately public employees and their pensions always seem to be in someone's sights.  You would think that with the recent passage of a Tier V Pension Plan we would be safe for a while, but I fear that the attacks will continue.  I can tell you that it is times like this that we need to maintain a presence in Albany, even more so than during the good times. 

 As you are probably aware the Tier V Pension Plan has been enacted for all members hired after January 1st of this year (unless your collective bargaining agreement spells out Tier II coverage, which ours does, then Tier V takes effect at the expiration of the contract) and we are already having problems with it.  During the negotiations with the Governor's Office we were assured that the provision concerning the amount of overtime used to calculate a retiree's pension would be similar to the way it is presently calculated with a slight decrease.  The bill itself was poorly written (probably due to the fact that the Governor's Office did not bother to ask counsel from the Retirement System) and because of that there is a problem with the interpretation by the Retirement System.  I cannot blame the Retirement System for this as the fault lies with whoever drafted the bill.  Anticipating a problem we asked the sponsors during voting on the bill to read into the record the legislative intent of the law, which they did for us.  However, the Retirement System told us, during a recent Albany meeting, that they have to go by the letter of the law, not what is read into the record.    We now know that we will probably have to do some type of correction bill to clear up the language as submitted by the Governor.  We do not want to wait 20 years to address this problem until the first Tier V member retires, by then no one will remember what the legislative intent was.  All this was done in a hurry, as it was more about receiving a favorable editorial than in insuring that the bill was properly written.  Politics are definitely in play upstate!

 Two other issues that we will probably have to deal with in the near future could both have an effect on our pensions.  The first is a call from some camps, most notably from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and others, that the Retirement System change from a sole trustee of the fund (our present Comptroller Tom DiNapoli) to a Pension Board, as is done in New York City.  The sole Trustee has worked very well for us in the past and has prevented raiding of our fund by previous Governors.  It would take a lot of convincing for me to believe that this change would be in our best interest.  If you are interested in this proposal you can read about it on the Attorney General's website at http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2009/oct/oct8a_09.html.

  Secondly, there is a renewed call by some politicians for the voters to call for an early Constitutional Convention. This is where a panel would be set up to open up the New York State Constitution for review and to recommend changes to this body of laws.  The last one was held in 1967 and the next scheduled one is not until 2017.  These politicians are asking for a Convention to take place within the next two years.  Our problem with this lies in the fact that it is the State Constitution that guarantees our pension benefits and it makes us nervous when people with different agendas are poking around in an area that could possibly alter these provisions.  Although I do not believe this is their intention we will definitely have to follow any new developments closely.

 

Legislative Update - Washington D.C.

If you have kept up in the newspapers with some of the provisions of the President's plan for Universal Health Care you would have noticed that one of the ideas to generate funds to pay for it was to tax municipalities that provide its employees with Health Care plans that the Administration feels are "too generous", the so called "Cadillac Plans".  While our health care package did not presently fit into this definition there was one problem, the plan only called for a 3% yearly adjustment in the premium threshold of what defined a "Cadillac Plan".  The problem with this is that the cost of Health Care is rising at a much steeper rate than 3%, therefore in as little as 10 years our health coverage might just become a "Cadillac Plan", which would not bode well for us or the County. Fortunately this idea was only in the Senate version of the bill and the House remains opposed to it. Two recent developments have also helped us with this problem.  NAPO (National Association of Police Organizations), of which we are members, was able to get an amendment through which exempted Public Safety Officers (and other union employees that receive health benefits through a collective bargaining agreement) from the provisions of this bill until at least 2018.  In addition, the recent election of a Republican to the Senate in Massachusetts now insures that the Democrats do not have a filibuster proof majority to ram it through.   We will continue to follow this issue as it unfolds.

 

New Duty Weapons

 This Department has carried the Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol now for approximately 20 years as our duty weapon and it has served us well.  However, the introduction of new types and calibers of pistols to the market and the age of some of our present weapons, the Department set out on a course of evaluating our current handgun with the aim of possible replacing it.   I, along with other union representatives, was asked to serve on a Weapon Selection Committee, to evaluate other pistols for a possible replacement.  After consideration by range personnel of several different manufacturers of firearms the choice was narrowed down to two weapons, the Glock and the Sig Sauer.  We were also given a choice of staying with the 9mm round, or upgrading to the .40 S&W cartridge.   After listening to representatives of both manufacturers, and test firing all of the pistols, the committee recommended to the Department that we replace our existing weapons with the Sig Sauer .40 caliber.  The Sig models tested were fitted with a new type of double action only trigger system (the DAK trigger) and are an improvement over our current model.  As in the past I believe the Department will offer members a choice between two models, the P226 or the P229 models, both with the frame rail system for accessories such as a flashlight or laser sights. While no firm date is set, and pending approval from the County, we hope to see new weapons start to arrive before the summer.  This weapon will be provided to members at no cost as a trade-in on your present model.  We were also told that accommodations would be made for members who wish to keep their present weapon in addition to the new duty firearm. This would involve some out of pocket cost, but then both weapons would be yours to keep upon retirement as per the collective bargaining agreement.  I will keep you updated on any progress or problems.

 

Retirement Questions

 Just as a reminder, from January through the end of June I am in Albany every week.  We frequently meet with representatives during this time from the Retirement System and the Comptroller’s Office.  If there are any problems that I can help you with in your dealings with these offices, or just general questions about our retirement plan and options, just let me know, I would be happy to help you out. 

 As always, any questions on any of the above items please call me at the office or email me at nassoa@aol.com

 

 

 



  HELPFUL LINKS FOR UP-TO-DATE
LEGISLATION

 http://www.senate.state.ny.us/

  http://assembly.state.ny.us/ 

  http://sobb.com/states/newyork/nylinks.html

 http://www.state.ny.us/

Superior Officers Association Police Department of Nassau County, New York

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