Concern voiced over yearly payroll bonanza calculations
By JOSH RESNEK
The mayor’s $40,000 a year longevity bonus is a made-up bonus placed in the city budget by CEO Eric Demas and approved by the city council.
The payment at most should be at maximum, $10,000 a year, not the $40,000 a year the mayor has been receiving, according to city hall higher-ups who spoke with the Leader Herald on the condition of confidentiality.
“If the city council challenged this payment to the mayor and the state attorney general approved of the action, the mayor would have to pay back everything he has received as a longevity payment except what he was by law supposed to receive for the past 14 years.
Mayoral candidate Fred Capone said he was disturbed by the news of the mayor’s apparently engorged longevity payment.
“This needs to be looked into without question,” he told the Leader Herald.
“If he is receiving $40,000 a year when it should be only $10,000 a year, we need to be checking this out with the proper state officials.”
Ross Pietrantonio agreed.
“The question is, will anyone on the council stand up and be counted?” he complained.
“No one seems to care. What is that all about?” he asked.
Pietrantonio is a council candidate in Ward 6.
Councilor Mike Marchese said he has felt the $40,000 a year longevity bonus to the mayor was way off base for years.
“The council should take immediate emergency action to correct the imbalance,” Marchese said.
The mayor does not respond to requests for comments from the Leader Herald.