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Niles council rescinding and replacing Infante policies
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
City council has begun rescinding and replacing policies instituted by former Mayor Ralph Infante that members describe as “ambiguous and inconsistent.”
In a special meeting Monday, council unanimously approved a “retirant employment policy” and gave first reading to an ordinance that will make overtime pay consistent for several nonunion positions.
Infante was indicted last year on more than 50 counts including bribery and theft in office. Several council members said the policy changes are related to the investigation.
Councilman Steve Papalas, D-at large, said the ex-mayor had enacted his own retire/rehire policy without the authority of council.
“We never voted on this policy when he was mayor,” said Papalas. “He never presented any legislation to us.”
Papalas said state auditors have been encouraging Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia and council to change the policies since December.
Scarnecchia said he is closing the door to future hiring of retired city employees while current rehired workers will keep their jobs.
“We will no longer have retire-rehires for as long as I’m here,” the mayor said.
According to the legislation, city hall retirees who are rehired have to be paid according to the city’s authorized strength ordinance and must pay 100 percent of their health care premiums. That was not the case for some retirees who were rehired under Infante, according to Robert Marino, council president.
“The city paid part of the health care premiums for some of them, while others had to pay the full amount,” Marino said.
The new ordinance limits overtime pay to “one and one-half times the hourly rate” for each position. Papalas said that under Infante, some supervisors received more than that percentage.
Two members of council, Frank Pezzano, D-1st, and Steve Mientkiewicz, D-2nd, abstained from voting because of family members who are employed by the city and would be impacted by the revised overtime ordinance. Council plans to approve the second reading today and the third and final reading of the ordinance Wednesday.