Albany, NY – Gov. David Paterson’s spokesman said the $42,000 in raises handed out to five staffers are being withdrawn “voluntarily” before any of the additional wages got into paychecks.
Morgan Hook said the raises had become an overnight distraction since initial reports came out Tuesday. Now, he said, public employee unions should follow suit and willingly give up the 4 percent raises that they negotiated and are due this year — a move that could end talk of furloughs.
“These individuals are willingly going along with this,” said Hook. “We’d like to see the public employees unions do the same thing.”
He said this voluntary surrender of raises is an act of the administration, but could only name one employee who actually stepped forward and suggested that her raise should not take effect: Jessica Bassett, who was supposed to get $10,000 more for a pay of $75,000 as press officer. Hook said he had not discussed the matter with the other four.
Hook noted that about 2,000 Public Employees Federation employees make $100,000 or above and more than 12,000 are at $75,000 and up. “How about getting those people to say: ‘Hey we’re in a fiscal crisis?,'” Hook said.
Four people who would have gotten the raises received promotions in the press office. Their promotions, unlike the salary increases, are not being stripped. A fifth person, a secretary in the executive chamber, did not receive a promotion, only a pay hike.
She, too, is out of the extra money, Hook said.
He said the executive chamber payroll is down 20 percent under Paterson and the press office’s aggregate salaries are down about $300,000. Some of the paring of payroll is a result of employees quitting the administration, particularly the top two communications directors. They left after having to handle the difficult public relations chores when the governor had to explain his taking tickets to a Yankees World Series game and alleged intrusion in a domestic violence case involving an aide.
(Read More: Times Union)
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Fantastic idea! Now, if only he would be willing to amend the New York State Charter/Constitution so that the Education Department would be under the direct control of the governor and abolish the Board of Regents, privatize S.U.N.Y, M.T.A. and the Health and Hospitals Corp. Then and only then will the state budget get under control.