SYRACUSE -- The lawmakers are upset that the county negotiated a contract with the jail deputies that allowed them to grant overtime assignments based on seniority.
The County Legislature unanimously approved a bill calling upon the county to change its policy that allows jail deputies to use their seniority to pad their pensions. Jail deputies have been permitted to rack up massive amounts of overtime prior to retirement, increasing their pensions.
This so called "stacking" process caused guards at the jail to nearly double their salaries just prior to retirement. That means their pension benefits are higher than if they were based on their base pay.
Mark Stanczyk, the Legislature’s Democrat Minority Leader, feels that the policy should be ended statewide because the pension system is becoming a major burden on taxpayers.
"Right now if you have a $60,000 job, but you work over time like a maniac and end up making $140,000, you get a pension based on $140,000 and not $60,000, and that’s not fair," said Stanczyk.
Stanczyk introduced the proposed bill to limit the overtime pay of county employees at Ways and Means Committee meeting back in February.
Last year, deputies at the Onondaga County Justice Center racked up 60,000 hours of overtime.
