PHIL REISMAN

Reisman: Yonkers' inner circle gets boost in pay

Phil Reisman
preisman@lohud.com
Phil Reisman

It seems that Yonkers is always in some kind of a fiscal mess — and this year is certainly no exception to the dreary rule. But guess what? I've learned that things aren't so bad that the mayor couldn't find a way to slip some fat pay increases to his City Hall staff. Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Eight members of Mayor Mike Spano's staff have received annual boosts in pay, ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. The increases were included in the 2014-2015 budget, which was passed in June, but for obvious reasons no one bothered to tell the taxpaying public about it. After all, it's difficult to make a convincing case for raises to members of the inner circle when you've just gotten through hiking property taxes and an income-tax surcharge as a means to help fund a $1.02 billion spending plan.

It's also hard to make a case when the budget season began with an astonishing $55 million hole on the education side because of a clerical error, which to this day has not been fully explained.

And then there's the matter of the public employees. Five of the city's seven municipal unions have been working without a contract for at least five years. Only the cops have new contracts. The rest — the people who fight the fires and pick up the garbage — might want an explanation about all this. Barry McGoey, who represents Local 628 of the firefighters union and has been in bitter contract talks with the city, claimed that raises and stipends "have been flowing out of City Hall for non-union management titles, but not one penny for the various unions representing the men and women who actually do the work each day keeping the city safe, clean and operating."

Here are the latest names and numbers:

Steven Levy — deputy mayor; $160,000 to $175,000; increase of 9.4 percent

Susan Gerry — deputy mayor; $165,000 to $175,000; increase of 6 percent.

Denise Egiziaco — chief of staff; $120,000 to $140,000; increase of 14.2 percent.

Christina Gilmartin — communications director; $110,000 to $120,000; increase of 8.3 percent.

Eddie Ayala — promotion to assistant communications director; $80,000 to $85,000; increase of 6.25 percent.

Jason Baker — promotion from assistant communications director to special assistant to the mayor; $85,000 to $105,000; increase of 23.5 percent.

Shanae Williams — assistant; $47,000 to $60,000; increase of 27.6 percent.

Saida Jereis — assistant; $47,000 to $60,000; increase of 27.6 percent.

Most of the raises were made effective July 18, but a few go back to June 20. The mayor, who took office Jan. 1, 2012, and is paid $156,000 a year, did not receive a raise.

Spano defended the salary increases when I spoke to him on the phone Monday. He said the city's recent effort to merge with various departments of the Board of Education has placed an extra workload on his staff. "Everyone is obviously putting a lot more hours in, and so in my opinion (increased compensation) was totally appropriate," he said.

He said that most of the pay increases were because of new jobs and responsibilities. In addition, he stressed that despite the increases he responsibly remained within his total office budget. Gilmartin, his spokeswoman, added that when Spano took office in 2012 his budget was $867,000 and it is now down to $810,000.

Nevertheless, taxes continue to go up. Perhaps the most annoying tax in Yonkers is the income-tax surcharge, which was hiked 12 percent. That means somebody making, say, $75,000 a year, will see a $70 tax increase, which is not a lot but just enough to feel like an insulting kick in the ass.

"I know you have to be very, very careful about the taxpayer," Spano said. "I get it. But this merger, which is going to save the city, we hope, quite a bit of money, has put an additional burden on the workforce here."

Spano further justified the raises by pointing out that his deputies and assistants don't have a union representing them. Translated, that means that, unlike McGoey's firefighters, the deputy mayors and all the others are at a disadvantage when it comes to reaping the rewards of their labors.

Well, if you are an average working stiff in Yonkers you might scratch your head over this. You work hard, too. You've got bills piling up. But did you get a raise this year? Or last year…or the year before that?

And then you have to wonder. Who's representing you?

Reach Phil Reisman at preisman@lohud.com.

Twitter: @philreisman.