batavia

Is the City of Batavia ready to pony up $288,000 in back pay to Batavia's police officers?

That could be the price tag on an expected arbitrator's ruling this summer.

Or the amount of back pay could be zero, or somewhere in between. Nobody really knows at this point.

In an e-mail request for comment, City Manager Jason Molino said, "Yes the arbitration decision will most likely come out this summer or fall.  There is no way of determining what the settlement may be.  This makes budgeting extremely difficult and no money has been budgeted for retroactive payments.  Any substantial retroactive payment would severely set back the City's attempt to minimize future costs."

Molino addressed the back pay issue earlier this year in his annual budget message, when he said that no money had been budgeted to cover retroactive pay.

Other city unions have given at least one year of zero-percent adjustments over the past four fiscal years (including 2009-2010), with other annual increases ranging from 1.5 percent to 2.85 percent.

If the the arbitrator finds in favor of the police union, the city could be on the hook for five years of back pay. It could be less, and it may not be as high as 3 percent.

But if the officers are awarded a 3-percent increase, it would be compounded for two years. That second-year rate would also apply to any additional annual pay increases for three years.

Frank Klimjack, president of the Batavia Police Benevolent Association, e-mailed us this explanation:

As per the Taylor law, an arbitrator can only impose an award for two years, therefore, that would only get the contract situation to an expiration date of March 31st, 2007.  Whatever award is imposed, a ?% for March 1st, 2005 and ?% for April 1st, 2006 would be granted to the PBA membership. Then you would have to readjust the amount of earnings beginning April 1st, 2005 through the present day 2009 based upon those percentages to determine back pay due the PBA membership. Then it's back to the negotiating table.

That's a big question mark in Klimjack's statement -- we don't know if it is 1 percent, 2 percent or 3 percent or more.  If the arbitrator imposes a rate as high as 4 percent, and five years of back pay, the total would be $317,800.  Two percent would be $258,000.

The BPA has been without a contract, and its members have not received a raise since 2005. Batavia police officers earn from $32,942 to $48,406 (most officers make $48,406), with detectives earning $53,164, sergeants $55,552 and lieutenants $63,775.  Two years of consecutive 3-percent raises for police officers earning $48,406 would bring their annual salaries to $51,354.

By comparison, the starting pay for a Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy is $47,798, and a typical deputy with three years on the force is earning about $52,832, according to Sheriff Gary Maha.

Unsure if the Batavia officers could really get a full five-years worth of back pay, I asked Klimjack to clarify and he replied: "Five years of back pay is correct.  Then beginning April 1st, 2007 through the present is negotiable."

I take that to mean that any additional annual increases from 2007 would be negotiable.  While, a total of five years of back pay for PBA members could still be award at whatever rate the arbitrator sets, per the Taylor law for the covered two years.

For a cash-strapped city, six-figures in back pay is a significant chunk of change. Asked where that money would come from, City Council President Charlie Mallow said, "I’m going to wait for the arbitration to be completed before I speculate on what steps the city will need to take to lesson the impact on our future tax burden. It is clear to me that it would be impossible to pass on a substantial tax increase to city residents at this point. I am confident Council as a whole will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure a stable tax rate."

You may remember that earlier this year the city decided to use $425,000 in Video Lottery Terminal to help land $4.5 million in Federal stimulus funds. Could that money have been better spent on police officer back pay?

"VLT aid was one-time revenues," Molino said. "Funding operational annual expenses with one time revenues would leave the City with significant shortfalls once the revenue stops."

Roberta King, killed in Binghamton on Friday, was born in Batavia, but grew up in Syracuse, according to Syracuse.com.

King, 72, was a substitute teacher that day.

People who knew her in Binghamton talked of her extensive doll collection and how she generously donated them for the annual Hanukkah museum at Temple Concord in Binghamton. Some of her dolls are on permanent display there.

On the Binghamton newspaper's Web site, many of the people commenting had her as a teacher and substitute teacher, and spoke glowingly of how she touched their lives.

...

Syracuse classmates from Roberta King's high school and college years in Syracuse were shocked Saturday to learn the gentle, sweet woman they remembered died Friday at the head of a classroom in the American Civic Association in Binghamton.

Marcos Juan Gomez, 31, of Rochester (pictured, right), is being charged with robbery in the 1st degree after allegedly being caught shoplifting at Target, and when security personnel there tried to stop him, he reportedly pulled a knife and fled. He was subsequently apprehended in the Home Depot parking lot. He is being held in Genesee County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Michael F. Geer, 18, of Batavia, is in jail on $5,000 bail and charged with harassment in the second degree and menacing in the second degree after allegedly wielding a knife and threatening to kill his mother. He is also charged with possession of a controlled substance He was taken into custody yesterday at around 5 p.m.

Benjamin Muntz, 20, of Oakfield (pictured, left), is accused of forgery after allegedly trying to pass forged checks at a local bank. He was arrested Thursday by a Sheriff's deputy while at Batavia City Court. He allegedly possessed two forged checks while at a Batavia bank in September. He is held in custody in lieu of $5,000 bail.

A 17-year-old girl from Stafford is in custody and held on $1,000 bail after allegedly entering a residence and taking $300 worth of property. She is charged with burglary in the second degree, a felony, and petty larceny. An order of protection was also issued.

Clint L. Stafford, 27, of Basom, was charged with DWI and felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle early Sunday morning. He was also ticked with an improper left turn and an open container.

A 17-year-old from Bergen is being charged with possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree. A K-9 reportedly found hydrocodone in the teenagers possession in November and a subsequent lab test confirmed the substance was hydrocodone. The teenager was issued an appearance ticket.

A 17-year-old girl involved in a motor vehicle accident in Stafford last week was allegedly found with a switch blade knife and several marijuana pipes. She is being charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the 4th degree and unlawful possession of marijuana.

I wish I could find David J. Gordon, if he's still alive, and interview him. On video would be especially good. I wonder if he would squirm at all?

Gordon is the City of Batavia's former Director or Urban Renewal.  If there is one single person responsible for tearing down half of downtown Batavia and building that brutal mall, it is Gordon.

We could give Gordon his due and excuse his enthusiasm for destruction and reconstruction to youthful folly and the trends of the time. Or could we see him as a locus for change that not many Batavian's wanted (it's very hard to find any long-time residents who say they support (or should I say, "admit" that they supported) the city's decision at the time).

C.M. Barons, loyal reader and commentor on The Batavian, interviewed Gordon in 1973. He e-mailed me a copy of the article.

Reading the Q&A is nothing less than infuriating.

Gordon started his young adult life pursuing study in social sciences and then flirted with becoming a priest, but wound up in Washington, D.C. where he got involved in urban renewal, a particularly flatulent excess of federal largess aimed at destroying city blocks and replacing them with anything, anything at all.

Urban renewal was all the rage in the 1960s and 1970s.

Wikipedia:

Urban renewal is extremely controversial, and typically involves the destruction of businesses, the relocation of people, and the use of eminent domain as a legal instrument to reclaim private property for city-initiated development projects.

In the second half of the 20th century, renewal often resulted in the creation of urban sprawl and vast areas of cities being demolished ... 

Urban renewal's effect on actual revitalization is a subject of intense debate. It is seen by proponents as an economic engine, and by opponents as a regressive mechanism for enriching the wealthy at the expense of taxpayers and the poor. It carries a high cost to existing communities, and in many cases resulted in the destruction of vibrant—if run-down —neighborhoods.

If you're a fan of The Kinks, you might be familiar with the 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies, which was Ray Davies scathing and often witty polemic against urban renewal. Long before I came to Batavia, it was one of my favorite LPs. Now it often strikes me as especially poignant.

I got a letter this morning with serious news that's gone and ruined my day,
The borough surveyor's used compulsory purchase to acquire my domain,
They're gonna pull up the floors, they're gonna knock down the walls,
They're gonna dig up the drains.

Here come the people in grey they're gonna take me away to lord knows where,
But I'm so unprepared I got no time to pack and I got nothing to wear,
Here come the people in grey,
To take me away.

Gordon was very much one of those people in grey, judging from the picture with Barons' article and his attitude toward the city that was nothing more than another notch on his resume.

At the heart of the article is Gordon's complete lack of respect for the small business owner. Without that respect, it is easy to see why he had no qualms about dislocating businesses that had operated in the same locations for decades.

What I think personally and I was brought up in a small business man's type home -- I'm talking experience not theory, is that unfortunately business has become that which is owned by bigger and bigger conglomerates. The day of the small business, I'm sorry to say, has become more and more a less intricate part of the American scene. It's another one of the changing aspects, one of the reasons, and there are many, that in the old days when a man ran a business he whole family went in there and helped him. His wife went in there and more important -- his kid. But today his kid wants to go to college and rightly so. And he wants the 35 or 40 hour work week with fringe benefits and vacations; he doesn't want to work all hours of the day as he did before. The small business can't compete (for labor) with the fringe benefits offered by the larger companies.

As a Brit like Ray Davies might say, "What rubbish."

I, too, grew up in a "small business man's type home" and my decision not to become a baker had nothing to do with an unwillingness to work hard and put in long hours, or a desire to seek fringe benefits. I simply preferred to pursue a life involving words and thought (I set out to be a writer) rather than dough and icing.  It's impossible to pigeon hole the mass of humanity as nothing but 40-hour-week seekers. Some people have the entrepreneurial drive and some don't, and we need communities that meet the needs of both types of people.  Gordon's statement strikes me as rather myopic.

There are a number of family owned businesses in Genesee County, many of them in their second and third generations of ownership.  The family-owned business never went out of style.  There have always been people more interested in working for a family owned business rather than a conglomerate, fringe benefits or not.  There's more to a good work life than an extra week of vacation. Gordon's assertions were based neither on experience nor theory, but merely wishful thinking.

Prophetically, with a bit of wisdom Gordon may not have realized he possessed, he did note how important a strong downtown is to a vibrant community.

Remember this is a big tax producing basis for the city -- the business district. If the business district goes to hell, the economics of this town go to hell.

I shared Barons' article with Batavia loyalist Bill Kauffman, who's anti-urban renewal writing is known the nation over. Bill's response: "The arrogant bastards who knocked down Old Batavia ought to have been tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail back to whatever unplace they came from."

Fortunately, whatever damage the bastards who tore down Old Batavia did to the business community, it is receding ever more into history as the local business community recovers. It didn't really take another government program, either, to turn things around. It is a combination of community effort and free enterprise, good small-town American values. It is a credit to the local merchants (which includes businesses in the mall) and property owners who have stuck with downtown and formed the Business Improvement District.  The BID has made great strides in revitalizing downtown, and the work continues.  Downtown Batavia's success is important for the entire community (at least Gordon got that much right). It sets the tone and the pace for the rest of the county.  The folly of David J. Gordon aside, there is no reason Downtown can't thrive for decades to come.

BATAVIA , N.Y. -- Kirby S. Wall, 32, of Rochester, reportedly tried to run from Drug Enforcement Task Force investigators yesterday only to be found hiding along the east wall of 400 Towers. The foot chase started at a residence on Swan Street, where officers had gone in an attempt to arrest Wall for allegedly dealing in crack cocaine. Wall was allegedly found to be in possession of $1,000 worth of crack and a quantity of marijuana.

Previously, Wall reportedly made two sales of crack cocaine to undercover investigators.

Wall is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance, both felonies. He is also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, a misdemeanor.

Assisting in the investigation were the Batavia Police Department, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, Livingston County Sheriff's K-9 Unit, and the Genesee County District Attorney's Office.

Gorgon L. Montgomery, 50, of Batavia, allegedly thought he could get something for nothing. He is accused of taking four tires that had been chained to a residential tree and marked "for sale." The tires disappeared the night of April 1 and were allegedly found in the back of Montgomery's pick up truck yesterday. He is charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the 5th degree. He was issued an appearance ticket on the charge.

Gerald P Perkins, 77, of LeRoy, was reportedly stopped for driving a vehicle without break lights. Upon further investigation, the arresting deputy reports, it was determined that Perkins was allegedly driving while impaired by alcohol. He was charged with DWI and released to a friend.

Michael C. Mirabal, 36, of Batavia, is accused of taking and using another person's car with out permission. He is charged with one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Several cities in New York have lobbied the Legislature to allow them to install traffic enforcement  cameras to help catch drivers who run red lights.

Red light cameras are controversial because many citizens view the devices as a get-quick-rich scheme for municipalities, while often times law enforcement officials defend the automated cops as a legitimate traffic control measure.

So the natural question is, if Batavia had the chance, would officials like to install such cameras at any intersections in the city?

City Council President Charlie Mallow said the subject has come up in informal discussions around City Hall, but there is no immediate plans to pursue the option.

"The city has a huge problem with out-of-town truck traffic and speeders bypassing the Thruway," Mallow said. "Traffic is the number one complaint I hear from residents."

Even so, Chief of Police Randy Baker said he hasn't looked into the issue at all. He's aware there is talk of installing the cameras in other cities, but no such proposal has been floated in Batavia as far as he knows.

"I'm not sure even what's involved," Baker said. "I'm not sure how expensive the cameras are or what kind of support is needed."

Council member Rosy Mary Christian said she hasn't given the issue any thought because none of her constituents have raised the issue.

But Mallow doesn't think the idea is off the boards.

"The city already has a plate reader on a (police) car that I’m told has been very effective," Mallow said.  "I guess I have yet to make up my mind about these cameras. If the police department believed it would be effective, I would be open to discussing it."

Both Buffalo and Rochester have long sought permission from the Legislature to install the cameras. The Buffalo City Council voted this week to ask Albany again if it could install 50 cameras. Rochester is expected to seek permission in a City Council vote today, according to an article in the Democrat and Chronicle.

Cities, including New York City, have been clamoring for years to install the cameras, but had been rebuffed by Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman David Gantt, D-Rochester.

However, Gantt said Wednesday he will no longer object to the measure and sponsored legislation this week to let Rochester have the cameras, which take snapshots of vehicles that run red lights.

Gantt said he still has reservations about whether the cameras invade privacy and increase safety. But he said legislative leaders and Gov. David Paterson have been pushing for the measure, so Rochester should be included.

Cities see the cameras as a way to cut down on drivers speeding through red lights and to generate new revenue; each offense would bring a $50 fine.

Citizen advocates, however, charge that municipal red light cameras are nothing more than a revenue grab. A site that tracks red light camera issues, TheNewspaper.com, claims Suffolk County transparently admits its desire for red light cameras is partly driven by a need to make-up revenue short falls.

In a four-hundred-page review of the county's financial situation released earlier this month, officials mentioned only one purpose for the automated traffic enforcement devices.

"At this point the County needs to make hard decisions," the 2009 county budget review states. "Do we raise property taxes? Do we seek state approval to raise the overall sales tax rate? ... Do we raise revenue from traffic tickets by instituting red light cameras? ... These are some of the choices, none of which are attractive. Nevertheless, we must face reality and begin serious discussions on what direction to take."

Suffolk County believes it could generate $3.5 million in new revenue from red light cameras.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety takes a different view of red light cameras, however, claiming that the cameras do help to reduce traffic accidents.

A nationwide study of fatal crashes at traffic signals in 1999 and 2000 estimated that 20 percent of the drivers involved failed to obey the signals. In 2007, almost 900 people were killed and an estimated 153,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. About half of the deaths in red light running crashes are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red light runners.

Motorists are more likely to be injured in urban crashes involving red light running than in other types of urban crashes. Institute researchers studied police reports of crashes on public roads in four urban areas during 1990-91. Occupant injuries occurred in 45 percent of red light running crashes, compared with 30 percent of other crash types.

...

A study conducted during several months at five busy intersections in Fairfax, Virginia, prior to the use of red light cameras found that, on average, a motorist ran a red light every 20 minutes at each intersection. During peak travel times, red light running was more frequent. Analysis of red light violation data from 19 intersections (without red light cameras) in four states found that 1,775 violations occurred over 554 hours, for a violation rate of 3.2 per hour per intersection

What these statistics do not reveal, however, is what these drivers were doing before running a red light. There is a huge difference between blatantly speeding through a red light and being caught by a short or unexpected red light and not having adequate time to safely stop. I've always wondered how many of the cited accidents, used to justify red light cameras, where caused by drivers who just happened to be the last car through the intersection with no real intention to run the red light?

Charlie Mallow said one reason he's ambivalent about the cameras is he's received a red light camera ticket before.

"I’ve also been on the short end of a traffic camera myself in California. So I understand the frustration of being caught by a big brother spy camera."

And I've gotten such a ticket. My ticket came while I tried to make a left turn at a Ventura, Calif. intersection. I was stopped at the red light and third car in line.  As I accelerated for my turn as the number two car, the light changed to yellow and just as I reached the limit line, it changed to red. Caught.  Three days later I received a letter from the city with three pictures of me in the intersection.  My frustration was that while I technically committed an infraction, there was no way I posed any threat to any other drivers.  With traffic stopped in all directions, there was no chance of anybody moving into the intersection at that point.

Running red lights is dangerous, but I don't believe red light cameras are really intended to stop the such reckless drivers. They are really designed to trap people like you and me so that the government can reach one more time into our wallets and extract a little cash.

At least there is this much though: If New York's fine is only $50, that's a hell of a lot better than the $260 of my California fine.

Traffic is blocked and backing up on northbound Oak Street to Main following a semi-truck and car collesion at 12 Oak Street.

Only minor injuries are reported.