New players on PBA contract: County executive-elect Romaine's deal will set the tone for his administration

Most Suffolk County residents don’t know his name, nor his impact on their tax bill, nor the many candidates he helped get elected to public office.

But for the past decade, Suffolk Police Benevolent Association president Noel DiGerolamo has been one of the most powerful political figures on Long Island, echoing the clout more than two decades ago of former Nassau PBA chief Gary DelaRaba. A sharp and savvy negotiator, DelaRaba was preceded by Richard Hartman, the attorney who seeded the practice of getting lucrative police contracts for Long Island and New York City in the 1970s. But unlike those who followed, Hartman left the politics to others.

Now at age 52, DiGerolamo is leaving both the county’s largest police union and the department itself, to spend more time with family and eventually seek some other position elsewhere. His take-away pay last year in Suffolk — a combined $305,000 as a cop and union leader — is a badge of his success.

DiGerolamo’s departure comes at a time of significant change for Suffolk with this month’s election of Republican Ed Romaine as county executive, following the 12-year tenure of term-limited Democrat Steve Bellone. Starting next year, Romaine must find a new police commissioner and negotiate a new PBA contract with new union president Lou Civello, who promises to follow in DiGerolamo’s footsteps. The big question for taxpayers will be — at what cost? A look at DiGerolamo’s record provides some answers.

BARGAINING SUCCESS

During his tenure, DiGerolamo oversaw negotiations on police contracts that made his 1,800 members among the highest-paid in the nation. By the time the existing contract expires next year, Suffolk County cops with 15 years on the job will make $200,000 annually — setting the pace for police contracts in Nassau County as well as town and village departments across the Island.

Expensive overtime pay, big pension payouts, special night differential pay — even negotiated annual payments between $1,000 and $3,000 for agreeing to wear body cameras in the line of duty — were all part of the cornucopia of perks and rewards gained or enhanced during DiGerolamo’s reign. Throughout, he maintained this money was well-earned because of the inherent dangers in police work.

As Newsday reported last year, 99 of the top 100 earners in Suffolk County government were cops. Many were happy recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars in unused sick time, vacation and holiday pay guaranteed in labor contracts. One top Suffolk police official was paid more than $700,000 in 2021 salary and termination payments.

The most outward sign of the PBA’s success is its new headquarters off exit 54 along the Long Island Expressway, that went up during DiGerolamo’s watch. Less visible signs of his clout can be found in the campaign coffers of candidates who received financial support in their quest for votes.

In this most recent Nov. 7 election, the impact of the Suffolk PBA and its political action committee was fully on display. The union’s endorsements ran overwhelmingly Republican — about 75% to 25% compared to Democrats. All but one of the endorsed candidates won. The union’s PAC — known as the Long Island Law Enforcement Foundation — spent more than $800,000 to get its message across in billboards, radio ads, political consultants, and other expenses for local and state campaigns.

CRIME MISPERCEPTIONS

The PBA and its PAC helped fuel the erroneous public perception of rising crime on Long Island; statistics show crime levels have been generally low for the past decade. Yet such unfounded claims were promulgated by many candidates endorsed by the Suffolk PBA, including Romaine, who railed against nonexistent crime waves or exaggerated threats. Some candidates indicated their willingness to pay police unions whatever they wanted to keep residents of one of the safest counties in the nation more safe.

Too often, PBA politics has had an undue influence in Suffolk. Much of the fiscal strain of high-paying contracts is due to the chronic lack of proper oversight by elected officials who are supposed to look out for taxpayers but are too often silent and seemingly cowed by the power of Long Island’s police unions. This applies not only to salaries and benefits, but also examples of misconduct by individual officers.

Many consider the police contracts negotiated by Bellone, first endorsed by the PBA in 2011, to be too generous and costly for taxpayers. Romaine, also endorsed by the PBA whose PAC gave him $23,000, must show independence from union influence in negotiating a new police contract. Romaine says his management skills will help him find efficiencies to reduce costs.

Suffolk residents, like all Long Islanders, appreciate the protection and service police provide round the clock, especially in times of trouble. But police compensation must recognize the affordability crisis facing most taxpayers. What Romaine decides to do here, like Bellone before him, will set the tone for much of his administration.