County again denies monetary rewards
By Donna Comella

When the Wayne County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday, they took a verbal lashing from Sheriff Richard Pisciotti.

In April, he, Undersheriff William Pulver and Chief Deputy William Shortsleeve, were three of four county employees who did not get 1998 raises. (The fourth was Dr. Joseph Mabon, who heads the county's Mental and Public Health Departments.) Tuesday, the board held a public hearing to set a longevity payment schedule for Pulver and Shortsleeve that would be paid from July 1, and not from January 1, as usual. Pisciotti said the move was "totally unfair."

"Many of you in this room have tried to micro-manage my department," scolded Pisciotti. "We have 200 employees who, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, deal constantly with crisis management."

Pisciotti admitted that his department had indeed had "internal problems" but that his department had fired, even arrested, some of its own in dealing with those problems. "None of you are trained in law enforcement and have no idea what it takes to run (that department)."

Pisciotti added that according to salary raises withheld by the supervisors, only four employees of 900 didn't do a job that warranted a pay hike. He called this "untrue" and pointed out that longevity pay should be based on just that - longevity - not job performance.

County Administrator Dan Kane backed Pisciotti's claim that, if the longevity was paid from July 1, all four of the department's lieutenants would have a higher annual income than the Undersheriff. Kane said that Pulver's and Shortsleeve's longevity pay would be $4,102 and $4,211, respectively, if paid retroactive to January 1, half of that if paid retro to July 1.

Supervisor Carm Pascarella (Rose) agreed with Pisciotti, calling the July 1 date "unfair." Supervisor Don Colvin (Savannah) explained that any longevity pay at all for the two would have been killed in committee without at least a later effective date.

"I don't see how you can justify it," said Pascarella.

"It's called compromise," replied Colvin.

The public hearing was closed.

When the resolution came to the floor, Pascarella again stood, asking why the board would want to "punish" the two administrators. "You're singling out a few people and slapping their hands. I think it's completely wrong."

Only he and Frank Guelli (Walworth) voted against it.

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