Long Beach Payouts Are 'Fiscal Threat' To City: State Report

A new report by the New York State Financial Restructuring Board deemed Long Beach's payouts to police and firefighters as "a fiscal threat to the city," and highlighted how extravagant they are compared to just about every other municipality in the state.

The report was issued because the city had applied for state grants to cover the cost of financial consultants. If the city followed the reports recommendations, it read, it could receive more funding.

The report found many areas where the city could improve its finances. But the most eye-opening section was the payouts to employees, mainly police officers and firefighters. The average payouts for police officers and firefighters range from a low of nearly $300,000 to more than $600,000.

"The payouts are made possible by significant vacation, sick, and other time accruals permitted in collective bargaining agreements," the report reads

Under federal law, members of police and firefighter unions can accrue up to 480 hours of unused compensatory time, and CSEA members can accrue 240 hours.

However, the city allows its union members to take "paydowns" from their hours, the report says, effectively resetting the clock and allowing them to get periodic payouts. Firefighters can have any single payout up to $10,000, and can get more with permission from the city manager. Police officers can request a full payout of up to 480 hours worth of pay, but that also requires city manager approval.

The report says this system encourages employees to take periodic paydowns. Through this system, the report said, an officer with 30 years of service would be able to accrue payments equal to 5,868 hours of accumulated time and get more than $553,000 — four percent of the police department's 2019 budget.

"In the course of its engagements with other municipalities, the board has yet to encounter separation pay policies elsewhere in the state that allow payments of this magnitude," the report says."

The report goes on to say that the payouts represent a "fiscal threat" to the city, which has prompted the borrowing of millions of dollars. "The city and its unions should carefully review and negotiate payout provisions in the next round of collective bargaining negotiations," the report says.

The report suggests that the city should assign EMS responsibilities to a civilian paramedic corps and reduce the number of career firefighters it employs. Long Beach is the only municipality on Long Island that still has paid firefighters, and its firefighters are the second-highest paid in the state.

"Under this model, there would be little to no change in the level of firefighting services provided to Long Beach taxpayers...but a significant improvement in emergency medical services," the report says. "Residents would be treated by fully certified paramedics rather than emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and ambulances would be pre-deployed throughout the city rather than centrally located at firehouses."

The report also recommends that the city reduce the size of its police force. Based on population and patrol data, the city should have 35 full-time patrol officers, the report says, but it employs 48. Its officers also have the highest average pay of any city in the state. If the city were to eliminate the 13 officers, the report says, it could save nearly $2.2 million annually just from that.

"However, before taking such action or prior to commencing negotiations with the union, the city and residents should thoroughly consider all options as well as the pros and cons of any specific approach," the report says.

You can read the full report for yourself by clicking here.