Tone deaf? Yes. But some Hempstead pay details are missing
Hempstead Town's $770,700 in personnel moves at the end of March were more than tone deaf.
They were a slap in the face to private workers who lost jobs, had their salaries cut or were furloughed because of economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
But Newsday left out a few details in its earlier story and editorial today about the town board's unanimous decision to award 11 raises, nine promotions and 10 new appointments on March 31.
One of those details concerned the reported promotion for the daughter of former Hempstead Parks Commissioner Daniel Lino, who had approved a questionable lease extension for concessionaire Butch Yamali's Dover Gourmet Corp. to run Malibu Beach Park.
Not reported was that his daughter was promoted off a competitive civil service list from $54,426-a-year clerk laborer in the water department to an office services assistant in the department for a whopping annual salary of $57,057 a year.
Also reported was the raise for the deputy town attorney who is president of the Garden City Republican Club. Town Supervisor Don Clavin for years was the Garden City Republican leader.
Not reported was that the deputy town attorney's salary increased from $62,118 a year to $67,118 annually. For an attorney.
Undoubtedly, people who are out of work would like those jobs.
But the positions are not exactly big patronage plums in a town where a groundskeeper makes more than $72,500 annually, a traffic control crew chief earns $91,830 and a Human Resources clerk is paid $97,431. (Those promotions and raises were also part of the March 31 agenda, but the involved employees do not have immediately recognizable names or positions.)
Clavin told the editorial board that he had already saved the town $4 million by personnel cuts and buyouts earlier in the year. Let's see what happens to his budget by the end of the year.
They were a slap in the face to private workers who lost jobs, had their salaries cut or were furloughed because of economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
But Newsday left out a few details in its earlier story and editorial today about the town board's unanimous decision to award 11 raises, nine promotions and 10 new appointments on March 31.
One of those details concerned the reported promotion for the daughter of former Hempstead Parks Commissioner Daniel Lino, who had approved a questionable lease extension for concessionaire Butch Yamali's Dover Gourmet Corp. to run Malibu Beach Park.
Not reported was that his daughter was promoted off a competitive civil service list from $54,426-a-year clerk laborer in the water department to an office services assistant in the department for a whopping annual salary of $57,057 a year.
Also reported was the raise for the deputy town attorney who is president of the Garden City Republican Club. Town Supervisor Don Clavin for years was the Garden City Republican leader.
Not reported was that the deputy town attorney's salary increased from $62,118 a year to $67,118 annually. For an attorney.
Undoubtedly, people who are out of work would like those jobs.
But the positions are not exactly big patronage plums in a town where a groundskeeper makes more than $72,500 annually, a traffic control crew chief earns $91,830 and a Human Resources clerk is paid $97,431. (Those promotions and raises were also part of the March 31 agenda, but the involved employees do not have immediately recognizable names or positions.)
Clavin told the editorial board that he had already saved the town $4 million by personnel cuts and buyouts earlier in the year. Let's see what happens to his budget by the end of the year.
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