Outrages & Insights

This talk out of the Chris Collins camp about putting taxpayers first is getting tired. To say nothing of phony.

The latest utterance was reported over the weekend, when flak Grant Loomis said a decision on whether to appeal an order issuedby U.S. District Judge William Skretny to allow Justice Department investigators into the Erie County Holding Center will be based on "the best course of action for county taxpayers."

Ah, Grant, the best course of action for county taxpayers is to do everything possible to avoid the multi-million lawsuits that are likely to stem from the growing number of suicides at the Holding Center.

If it were really about taxpayers, the county executive wouldn't be paying lawyers more than $400 an hour to defend the indefensible at the Holding Center. Or be pushing for a pay raise for the guy who runs the joint.

But you see, Grant, it's really not about the taxpayer.

If it was, Matt Spina wouldn't have reported what he did the other day, that some of the top managers in the Sheriff's Office pad their paychecks for work that's not relevant to their duties.

Erie County grants its unionized corrections officers and jail deputies 15 minutes of overtime pay each day to start their shift 15 minutes early, so they can attend that day’s briefing by higher-ups.

Several sheriff’s administrators, even though they are not unionized employees, can collect lineup pay, too — a half-hour daily. Some of the highest-ranking supervisors, already granted six-figure salaries and take-home vehicles, collect lineup pay.

For example, the benefit added more than $9,000 each to the 2009 salaries of Undersheriff Richard Donovan and Administrative Coordinator Brian Doyle ... 

Lineup pay added $9,020 to Koch’s salary in 2009, when he averaged 2.5 hours a week in lineup duty, which would be considered normal for an administrator who can receive 30 minutes of lineup pay daily. But he collected those 2.5 hours a week even during vacation weeks, payroll records show.

And here's the kicker -- I'm told the management guys don't actually have to show up for the lineups to collect the pay.

Ah, Grant, that's called "no show."

Usually not a good thing for taxpayers.

But it does conform with Collins' mantra of running government like a business.

As in, give the guys in management all sorts of perks, regardless of whether they deserve them or not, and  demand givebacks  from the working stiffs.

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