Mayor David J. Narkewicz                                                                  City of Northampton

City Hall, 210 Main Street, Room 12 Northampton, MA 01060-3199

(413) 587-1249 mayor@northamptonma.gov

MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Mayor David J. Narkewicz DATE: January 23, 2014 RE: December 19, 2013 City Council Information Request This memorandum provides written responses to the attached information request consisting of twenty questions voted on by the City Council on December 19, 2013 pursuant to Section 2-7 of the Northampton Charter. Supplemental to this memorandum, I am also attaching a copy of a public record released last month entitled, “Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures.” prepared by the certified public accounting firm of Scanlon & Associates of South Deerfield, Massachusetts. 1. How much did the investigation cost the city and what budget was it taken from? $7,171.26 Breakdown of costs and budget source: - $2,421.26 from NPD Budget for overtime related to internal investigation - $4,750.00 from Auditor Budget for independent review and analysis of payroll records 2. How much will the city paid for the cost of the investigation? See Question 1. 3. How much were the two former employees paid while on leave? Savino $20,826.47 Keating $8,850.60 4. What is the process by which compensation is approved for time worked at the Northampton Police Department? Please give the process that took place in the case of Ms. Keating, including the names and positions of all individuals involved? The Northampton Police Department (NPD) utilizes detailed reporting, documentation, and oversight procedures for the approval of time worked. A computer software system (IMC) is used to schedule personnel 24/7, creating electronic rosters that allow supervisors to track the duty status and hours worked of officers, detectives, and administrative staff. These electronic attendance rosters are verified, printed, and signed by supervisors. In addition to the duty rosters, separate color-coded authorization forms are used to document requests for extra compensation (overtime and comp time), requests to earn or use flex time, requests for time off (vacation, personal, bereavement, shift swap, etc.), and requests for sick leave use. These forms must be signed by the requesting employee, approved and signed by the employee’s supervisor, and

City Council Information Request Memorandum January 23, 2014 Page 2 require final signatory approval by the Captain of Administration. The authorization forms are kept together with the signed duty rosters as paper documentation for payroll entry. The Police Department Secretary is responsible for ensuring that all time worked is properly documented and authorized before inputting that information into the city’s electronic MUNIS payroll system for compensation. Time worked by the Police Department Secretary is authorized and documented using the aforementioned process and the authorizing supervisor is the Captain of Administration. With regard to your specific question regarding Ms. Keating, I respectfully refer the City Council to the attached public record entitled, “Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures” which provides a detailed review and analysis of the former employee’s payroll records. 5. What are the police department’s policies and procedures related to Flex Time? Under both city personnel policies and collective bargaining, department heads have authority to allow employees to work a flexible schedule (flex-time) to meet individual and organizational needs. Flex-time is earned for work performed outside of normal scheduled hours, but must be used within the same two-week pay period. Unlike sick time, vacation time, personal time, etc., flex-time cannot be accrued over multiple pay-periods and is not subject to post-employment payout. For example, NPD officers recently attended a required 8-hour Breathalyzer recertification course. Those 8 hours were authorized as flex-time. The 8 hours of flex time were then applied to the officers’ schedules during the same pay period, meaning the officers took 8 hours off from their normal scheduled work hours to offset the flex hours. By “flexing” their schedule, the officer fulfilled their NPD duties and training obligations while staying within their contractual 80 hours per pay period. Alternatively, the officers could have been paid overtime (time and a half) to attend the training, requiring 92 hours of compensation during the same pay period. The Northampton Police Department utilizes flex-time in accordance with city policy and utilizes a written authorization form entitled “Request To Earn or Use Flex-Time” that an employee must fill out detailing the date, time, and specific reason for the request. The employee, their supervisor, and the Captain of Administration must sign the NPD flex-time form. 6. What other city departments use Flex Time? As outlined above, city personnel policies and collective bargaining give department heads the authority and discretion to allow employees to work a flexible schedule (flex-time) to meet individual and organizational needs. Nearly every city department utilizes flex-time currently with the exception of the Assessors, City Clerk, Collector, and Parking Enforcement. In addition to the training example cited in answer to Question 5, departments who provide frequent staff support at evening city meetings such as Planning Board, Conservation Commission, City Council, etc. or at evening or weekend city events such as Council on Aging, Recreation, etc. utilize flex-time to offset those hours during their daily schedule. An employee

City Council Information Request Memorandum January 23, 2014 Page 3 might also request to work hours outside of their normal schedule to accommodate a personal commitment like a medical appointment, parent-teacher conference, etc. In that case, the employee could be approved to work earlier or later than their normally scheduled hours as flex-time in order to offset the personal commitment time. The purpose of flexible time or flex-time is, as its name implies, to provide flexibility for department heads and employees alike to accomplish their departmental mission provided that the employees work their required number of hours and offices are appropriately covered during normal business hours. Once again, flex-time must be used within the same two-week pay period that it is earned, cannot be accrued over multiple pay periods, and is not subject to post-employment payout. 7. Will the administration review the departmental protocols with respect to payroll record keeping? We have and continue to review all departmental protocols with respect to payroll record keeping on an ongoing basis to ensure their accuracy and integrity. 8. In which transfer will the three payments of Savino’s sick time be included? No transfer is required. Payments of accrued sick time are charged directly to the Unearned Leave account in the General Fund Budget. 9. What is former Captain Savino’s birthdate, how many years of service did he have for the Northampton Police Department, and what was his final salary? Birthdate: December 10, 1964 Dates of Service: 9/29/86 - 12/12/13 Final Salary: $86,293.08 10. Was the Chief ever made aware of his secretary’s absence from work? The staff position in question is the “Police Department Secretary” providing administrative support to the Chief, Captain of Operations, Captain of Administration, and as needed, for the Training Officer and Accreditation Manager. The Chief was aware that the Police Department Secretary was not present at times during normal working hours. When the Chief became aware that those absences involved possible payroll record improprieties he immediately launched an internal review and ultimately referred the matter to the District Attorney. 11. How many hours did Ms. Keating work this year? NPD payroll records reflected that Ms. Keating worked 1223.5 hours from January 1, 2013 – September 20, 2013. I respectfully refer the City Council to the attached public record entitled, “Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures” which provides a detailed review and analysis of former employee Keating’s hours worked.

City Council Information Request Memorandum January 23, 2014 Page 4 12. Did former Captain Savino receive his two Quinn Bill disbursements this year? If so, how much were the two disbursements? When were they received? Under current NPD collective bargaining agreements and benefit schedules, eligible employees now receive a “Northampton Educational Incentive Allowance” (formerly known as Quinn Bill) paid in two equal installments in December and June of each fiscal year. In the case of resignation or retirement, this benefit is pro-rated to the employee’s close of service date. Mr. Savino received the second installment of his FY2013 education benefit totaling $8,544 on June 6, 2013 and a July 3, 2013 $170.88 retroactive payment following the settlement of NPD collective bargaining agreements. The first installment of Mr. Savino’s FY2014 education incentive allowance was pro-rated to his close of service date for a benefit allowance of $7,754.67 that was received December 19, 2013 ($3877.33) and January 2, 2014 ($3877.33). 13. The public has been assured that this is an isolated incident. Will there be further investigations into the policies and procedures of the Northampton Police Department? This was an isolated incident as per both the City’s and the Hampden District Attorney’s investigation. NPD policies and procedures have been reviewed as a result of this incident and are continuously reviewed – including as part of the department’s three-year accreditation process - to ensure the highest level of professionalism and integrity for our community. 14. Is there a plan to restore credibility in the Northampton Police Department? I reject the premise of this question. The NPD responds professionally and ethically to hundreds of calls weekly with no question as to credibility, did so throughout the entire investigation, and continues to do so. This matter involved two of the sixty-five NPD employees, as determined by a thorough, independent 13-week investigation by the Hampden District Attorney. It is inappropriate to impugn the integrity and credibility of all of NPD’s dedicated, hard-working professionals because of the isolated conduct of two now-former employees. 15. What were the dates Ms. Keating submitted for compensation for which she did not work? I respectfully refer the City Council to the attached public record entitled, “Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures” which provides a detailed review and analysis of the former employee’s payroll records. 16. In what transfer will the three payments of Savino’s sick time be included? Please see my response to Question 8. 17. What is Chief Sienkiewicz’s date of birth? March 28, 1955. 18. Ms. Keating was ordered to pay restitution as per the agreement. Why was restitution not ordered to be paid jointly and severally between Ms. Keating and Savino? I must limit my response because the information requested seeks evaluative and disciplinary personnel information that is not public. Generally, both the investigation by the Hampden

City Council Information Request Memorandum January 23, 2014 Page 5 District Attorney and the internal investigation conducted by the Northampton Police Department revealed markedly different levels of culpability between the two individuals involved. In addition, Mr. Savino had significant rights under the Civil Service Law, G.L. c. 31, while Ms. Keating had no such rights. The Civil Service process, had it been invoked, would have required significant expenditures to defend the claim with a very uncertain outcome, including the real possibility that Mr. Savino would have been reinstated and the City required to compensate him for any back pay withheld. The negotiated administrative resolutions required a cost-benefit analysis in which all parties compromised their rights and liabilities. 19. Will the Captain of Operations position be filled? If so, when? Yes, a Captain will be assigned to NPD Operations at the beginning of March 2014. 20. Chief Sienkiewicz made a reference in the Daily Hampshire Gazette to a possible restructuring of the department. Is there any plans for restructuring going forward? Following the resolution of this investigation, Chief Sienkiewicz met with me to discuss the organizational structure of the Northampton Police Department based on his review of the current structure and extensive research into other potential options. We concluded that the current NPD organizational structure is operationally sound and matches contemporary models for similar-sized accredited police agencies. There are no plans for restructuring the department at this time.