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Singas said that her office’s investigation into payouts for accrued vacation and sick leave time made to certain former employees in Long Beach were “excessive and inconsistent with applicable law, but didn't meet New York's standards for prosecution.
The DA’s public corruption unit launched an investigation two years ago when Long Beach failed to pass a $2.1 million bond to cover separation payments for nearly a dozen current and former employees, including a $108,000 separation payment to former City Manager Jack Schnirman paid before he left to serve as Nassau County's comptroller.
Investigators said the city had a history of excessive vacation and sick time payouts to employees for the better part of two decades, as well as drawdowns of accrued time for some current employees, relying on an interpretation of city policy that dates back to 1997.
In total, the DA’s office investigated and interviewed more than 30 current and former employees of Long Beach, and reviewed thousands of pages of records, though not all witnesses were cooperative.
“Our exhaustive investigation found that these payments were the result of shocking ignorance of the Long Beach laws and ordinances, the incompetence and negligence of the officials charged with executing them, and a total abdication of oversight by the prior City Council,” Singas said.
Though she said that the payments were inconsistent with the laws in place, Singas noted that there was no evidence suggesting the leave balances were unearned, and there was no evidence of criminal intent necessary to bring criminal charges.
According to the investigation, Singas found that:
- Most city employees were unaware of the existence of the Personnel Code, which sets the limits for separation payout;
- Officials charged with following and enforcing provisions of the Personnel Code and other codified laws and rules, claimed to have no familiarity with their contents, instead relying on past practices;
- One high-level employee claimed that the Code of Ordinances was merely a set of advisory guidelines and the city was not obligated to abide by it;
- The city’s former Corporation Counsel negotiated his own contract with the City Manager regarding a payout of compensation and a $119,855 draw-down payment, which was not allowed by the City Charter or Code of Ordinances. The contract included an improper confidentiality clause and was not disclosed to the City Council or pursuant to public records requests, until his resignation;
- The City Council showed an inexplicable deference to unelected appointees, even when they acted in open defiance of the Council;
- Audits by the New York State Comptroller in 1992 and 1997 highlighted deficiencies in city policies regarding leave payouts but the City Council took no meaningful action to correct them;
- Several City Councilmembers told investigators that they had no familiarity with the Personnel Code, even after improper payments received widespread attention
Singas said that moving forward, Long Beach’s City Council must have clear policies regarding payments for accrued vacation and sick time, and they should review their operations to determine if there are any antiquated options that have been in place for an extended period of time.
The DA also called on the City Council to review its City Charter, and for the City of Long Beach to ensure its Board of Ethics is active and prepared to educated employees.
“During Mr. Schnirman’s tenure as City Manager, he allowed millions of dollars in improper payments to be made, personally accepted a payment much more generous than provided-for by the plain language of his contract and waited more than a year to return that payout while under state and federal investigation,” Singas said in a statement. “The taxpayers of Long Beach deserved better.”
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