Town of Hempstead Government or Family Business??

[Business as usual]

Seems like everyone in the Murray family is employed by the Town of Hempstead. Another clear example of the patronage mill that benefits the few and neglects everyone else. Government as employment rather than government as service.

Candidate charges patronage

BY DENISE M. BONILLA
STAFF WRITER

September 2, 2005

Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson went on the attack yesterday against his election opponent, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, criticizing her for spending millions in salaries for town employees hired out of Republican Party patronage.

Although Murray said she has cut jobs since taking office, Levinson, the Democratic candidate for supervisor, said she has been "rewarding her friends and family" with $36 million in annual pay for hundreds of employees.

Levinson singled out 323 of the about 1,900 full-time town employees who he said are Republican committeemen and collect an average of $75,000 a year. Included in that list are two of Murray's relatives: her father, Norman, 79, a longtime employee who earns more than $115,000 a year as a legal assistant, and brother Terence, 48, who makes more than $62,000 a year as a physical conditioning specialist for the parks department, Levinson said.

Murray could not be reached for comment, but in a statement distributed by her campaign manager, the supervisor called Levinson a "desperate candidate without a message."

She defended her hiring practices and stated that during her tenure the municipal work force has been reduced by 6.5 percent. In addition, she said that for every new hire since she took office in 2003, two workers have left, a savings of almost $10 million.

The departments with the most patronage-related employment are the parks department, with 84 Republican committeemen, the Highway Department with 40, and the Sanitation Department with 34, Levinson said.

"They're bloating the payroll in order to pay back political favors," Levinson said.

He said he did not know the dates of the hires, and he acknowledged that Murray's father had been employed by the town since long before she took office. Murray "didn't start this, this has been a culture" of patronage, he said.

At the same time, Levinson said patronage itself is healthy and that if elected, he will have "limited patronage jobs" filled by professionals. "I don't have any objection to patronage employees as long as they are qualified," he said.

Seems like everyone in the Murray family is employed by the Town of Hempstead. Another clear example of the patronage mill that benefits the few and neglects everyone else. Government as employment rather than government as service.

Candidate charges patronage

BY DENISE M. BONILLA
STAFF WRITER

September 2, 2005

Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson went on the attack yesterday against his election opponent, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, criticizing her for spending millions in salaries for town employees hired out of Republican Party patronage.

Although Murray said she has cut jobs since taking office, Levinson, the Democratic candidate for supervisor, said she has been "rewarding her friends and family" with $36 million in annual pay for hundreds of employees.

Levinson singled out 323 of the about 1,900 full-time town employees who he said are Republican committeemen and collect an average of $75,000 a year. Included in that list are two of Murray's relatives: her father, Norman, 79, a longtime employee who earns more than $115,000 a year as a legal assistant, and brother Terence, 48, who makes more than $62,000 a year as a physical conditioning specialist for the parks department, Levinson said.

Murray could not be reached for comment, but in a statement distributed by her campaign manager, the supervisor called Levinson a "desperate candidate without a message."

She defended her hiring practices and stated that during her tenure the municipal work force has been reduced by 6.5 percent. In addition, she said that for every new hire since she took office in 2003, two workers have left, a savings of almost $10 million.

The departments with the most patronage-related employment are the parks department, with 84 Republican committeemen, the Highway Department with 40, and the Sanitation Department with 34, Levinson said.

"They're bloating the payroll in order to pay back political favors," Levinson said.

He said he did not know the dates of the hires, and he acknowledged that Murray's father had been employed by the town since long before she took office. Murray "didn't start this, this has been a culture" of patronage, he said.

At the same time, Levinson said patronage itself is healthy and that if elected, he will have "limited patronage jobs" filled by professionals. "I don't have any objection to patronage employees as long as they are qualified," he said.

No secret, the TOH is one of the largest patronage mills in America.

[Dr.Know]

Family patronage and alot of "in-breeding" going on in the TOH

IQ level keeps dropping in TOH gov't

[Slave Laborer]

I think its awful that Kate Murray is making her 79 year old father work as a legal assistant for $115,000 a year. She should just let him retire, on his two governement pensions.

Seriously, does anyone know what Murray does for the money.

[Daddy dearest]

I think its awful that Kate Murray is making her 79 year old father work as a legal assistant for $115,000 a year. She should just let him retire, on his two governement pensions.

Seriously, does anyone know what Murray does for the money.

When I read the article, I thought to myself "Wow, still working at 79?? That's crazy." It reminded me of the movie Billy Madison when Adam Sandler's grandmother is in the nursing home and she is being forced to make hand-made quilts by the evil nursing home manager played by Ben Stiller. The grandma asks Stiller "Can I get a cool glass of water please? I am thirsty. I've been quilting for 14 hours." to which he replies "How 'bout a nice cool glass of shut the f**ck up?? Back to work b**tch!!"

I would imagine that the elder Murray's workday at the TOH is not exactly punishing. Legal assistant?? What does that mean? He assists the legal department with the lunch order?? That is the best euphemism I've seen since someone told me that they were a "Crowd Control Specialist and Identification Consultant, i.e. a bouncer outside a bar).

I'd love to know what his annual pay raises were after his daughter became Supervisor. "Daddy, you get a 40% raise this year. Keep up the good work!! Well, actually what I mean to say is just keep showing up for work!"

I think its awful that Kate Murray is making her 79 year old father work as a legal assistant for $115,000 a year. She should just let him retire, on his two governement pensions.

Seriously, does anyone know what Murray does for the money.

hes a paralegal.

As a Republican, I am upset by this nonsense. However, before the Democrats throw stones, I think it would be interesting to take a look at Patronage inside the Suozzi administration. If you are going to look in other peoples closets, why not start with your own. Levinson might have made a mistake here.

I think its awful that Kate Murray is making her 79 year old father work as a legal assistant for $115,000 a year. She should just let him retire, on his two governement pensions.

Seriously, does anyone know what Murray does for the money.

hes a paralegal.

also the town of north hempstead what kind of patronage do they have has been a dem in charge for a long time now so whats there story

[well paid paralegal]

As a Republican, I am upset by this nonsense. However, before the Democrats throw stones, I think it would be interesting to take a look at Patronage inside the Suozzi administration. If you are going to look in other peoples closets, why not start with your own. Levinson might have made a mistake here.

I think its awful that Kate Murray is making her 79 year old father work as a legal assistant for $115,000 a year. She should just let him retire, on his two governement pensions.

Seriously, does anyone know what Murray does for the money.

hes a paralegal.

$115,000 for a paralegal position??? Seems a little above the industry average (even for the private sector).

A quick check at salary.com indicates that the median salary for a paralegal IV (that's highest grade for a paralegal and we'll make the assumption that at 79, he's climbed to the top of the paralegal ladder by now) in Nassau County is $69,278. Even at the 75th percentile, the salary is only at $80,663. The elder Murray's salary puts him right at the top of the pay curve for paralegals in Nassau County. Who said the public sector didn't pay?

Check the facts for yourself:

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_compresult.asp?narrowdesc=&jobcode=LE11000026&statecode=NY&jobaltername=Paralegal+IV&state=New+York&jobtitle=Paralegal+IV&narrowcode=LE01&metrocode=115&geo=Nassau%2C+NY&narrowdesc=Legal+Services&pagenumber=1&zipcode=&searchpage=keywordtitleselect&searchtype=1&signupemail=Enter+e-mail+address&choosesignup=0

[County Attorney Salarys]

AHHH - that explains alot. The paralegal job - ie: law assistants- are civil service but there's no test for it and no list. It's by appointment. When you go to the TOH civil service - it's listed in the books but if you try submitting a resume to apply for the job - instead of leaving an envelope for them to mail you an exam application when they give the test (because there is no test) - they mail it back to you saying they don't accept resumes. So now I know how you get that job.

Not that Tom Suozzi is any better. He's giving all his appointed clerks civil service job titles of law assistant. Law assistant in the county attorney's office used to be the grade and salary they hired entry level law school graduates at until they became lawyers when they passed the bar. Now he gives that grade and salary to clerks who have no legal experience or knowledge whatsoever and the clerks who worked there for years have been relagated to working in cubes the size of a small water closet and spending their days basically making photocopies and filing things away. These so called law assistants - legal clerks whatever - don't do any legal work - because they can't - and do basically personal duties for the so-called supervising and senior lawyers. They get paid for a job they don't do and shouldn't have been allowed to qualify for.

Now what? Karl Kampe was the GOP guy at civil service who Tom Suozzi fired and replaced with Tom Williams, a Democrat who was a stand-up guy and wouldn't permit civil service violations and circumventions. SO Tom Suozzi fired him and hired back Karl Kampe - whose predecessor was a guy called Sinnott who is now in charge of the NYS Civil Service Commission. See how this works?

It doesn't matter what political party is in power. What's important is that the guy in charge have /////////usitari// and ethics. Tom Suozzi has proven repeatedly he has none. So I say - let's try out Greg Peterson.

And if you really want an eye opener - look at the salary's for the county attorney's office. I'd venture to say at least 1/2 of them don't even reside in Nassau County - or have fake addresses - and the bureau chiefs and senior attorneys with salary's over $70K have no qualifications for the positions they have. The "administrators" must number at least a dozen and 1/2 now, compared to the THREE administrators under Owen Walsh's office - and the budget and number of staff has probably more than tripled since 2000, with many of their staffers hiring illegals to clean house and babsit - whether live - ins or salaried - and you can bet they aren't paying into the worker's compensation fund for them - also illegal. Several rent out illegal basement apartments as well - to illegals & claim they're "relatives" of their nannies or some far-fetched story like that.

Let's see Clavin do an audit of that office. It'll shut-up Levinson's ugly face once and for all about patronage. Or does he think we all forgot about the NY Times articles about Suozzi NYC patronage appointments and the IDA group?

Or maybe we should start to question how come when you win a tax assessment hearing - his office refuses to prospectively adjust the assessment for future taxes - forcing double and triple the hearings otherwise necessary - in the solitary hope that the confusion his system causes, and the fact that the assessments are done and the deadlines for applying for hearings are done - so far in the future, with the hearings being 2 years behind and refunds being held up for 4 years - that taxpayers will get either so confused or disgusted that they'll miss the filing deadlines and not have an opportunity to challenge their severely overassessed homes? People just see their taxes and assessments going up, up and up even after winning a hearing - so they think the hearings are fruitless - because of Levinson's policy of refusing to adjust the current and future year's assessment based on a past year's hearing decision.

Or maybe we can talk about how he wants less teachers with more students in each class, garbage piles everywhere to cut down on sanitation fees and the imposition of an income tax on people who can't even find affordable housing as it is, while the rich just keep getting richer and digging into the pockets of the working class?

Levinson better watch his big mouth because for every can of worms he thinks he's opening, there's three more on "Team Suozzi" - or what's left of it.

"At the same time, Levinson said patronage itself is healthy and that if elected, he will have "limited patronage jobs" filled by professionals. "I don't have any objection to patronage employees as long as they are qualified," he said."

I think this sums is all up.....it's ok if it's the "right" patronage by the "correct" party.....

Remember if Harvey wants to play all you have to do is go department by department in the County of Nassau and start naming those Democratic Committeemen, Zone Leaders, spouses of Zone Leaders (ie, Nancy Caraciolo's husband James in the County Park's Department), political contibutors that have gotten jobs in the County or at OTB. The lists are available and the comparrisons have been done. Harvey is opening up a Pandora's box he may not want to open....but he already did it....so I guess it will be interesting to see all the names come flying out of the County and OTB....let the games and mud begin.....

[Let's be real]

"
Remember if Harvey wants to play all you have to do is go department by department in the County of Nassau and start naming those Democratic Committeemen, Zone Leaders, spouses of Zone Leaders (ie, Nancy Caraciolo's husband James in the County Park's Department), political contibutors that have gotten jobs in the County or at OTB. The lists are available and the comparrisons have been done. Harvey is opening up a Pandora's box he may not want to open....but he already did it....so I guess it will be interesting to see all the names come flying out of the County and OTB....let the games and mud begin.....

I think everyone can agree that patronage jobs go both ways. It's not a phenomenon created exclusively by the Town of Hempstead Republicans, although they have perfected it into an art form. I don't think people would even have a problem with the patronage if things at the Town of Hempstead were operating well and efficiently. But the fact remains, the TOH is a poorly run government entity, anyone who says otherwise needs to look up the definition of good government.

The patronage has become so entrenched in the Town of Hempstead that it is degrading service delivery. The only value the TOH is creating right now is for the people who benefit from the patronage mill. The number of family members who work for the TOH numbers in the hundreds. There are at least 40 people at the TOH connected to the Republican Party who make more than $100K with titles like "Fiscal Manager", "Secretary To Board Of Zoning Appeals", and "General Park Crew Chief." Some of these people like Joe Ra, who makes almost $140K at the TOH as an attorney, also pulls in a second salary with Sanitation District 6. Does this seem right? Is this how we want our local government to operate?

The TOH has been run by Republicans for over 100 years which is close to unprecedented in modern politics. However, everything has a shelf life and the TOH Republicans are way past their expiration date at this point. They are short on ideas and are managing reactively instead of proactively.

It's time for a change.

The Society of St Tammany will be pleasantly surprised that "the pot is calling the kettle black". Let's all remember that Tammany Hall was a Democratic Party creation that was best patronage mill ever seen in this countries history.

[levinson would raise $]

and raise salaries; Ra would be making $180k under Levinson-cause Tom Suozzi endorses tirsh Farrell.

AHHH - that explains alot. The paralegal job - ie: law assistants- are civil service but there's no test for it and no list. It's by appointment. When you go to the TOH civil service - it's listed in the books but if you try submitting a resume to apply for the job - instead of leaving an envelope for them to mail you an exam application when they give the test (because there is no test) - they mail it back to you saying they don't accept resumes. So now I know how you get that job.

Not that Tom Suozzi is any better. He's giving all his appointed clerks civil service job titles of law assistant. Law assistant in the county attorney's office used to be the grade and salary they hired entry level law school graduates at until they became lawyers when they passed the bar. Now he gives that grade and salary to clerks who have no legal experience or knowledge whatsoever and the clerks who worked there for years have been relagated to working in cubes the size of a small water closet and spending their days basically making photocopies and filing things away. These so called law assistants - legal clerks whatever - don't do any legal work - because they can't - and do basically personal duties for the so-called supervising and senior lawyers. They get paid for a job they don't do and shouldn't have been allowed to qualify for.

Now what? Karl Kampe was the GOP guy at civil service who Tom Suozzi fired and replaced with Tom Williams, a Democrat who was a stand-up guy and wouldn't permit civil service violations and circumventions. SO Tom Suozzi fired him and hired back Karl Kampe - whose predecessor was a guy called Sinnott who is now in charge of the NYS Civil Service Commission. See how this works?

It doesn't matter what political party is in power. What's important is that the guy in charge have /////////usitari// and ethics. Tom Suozzi has proven repeatedly he has none. So I say - let's try out Greg Peterson.

And if you really want an eye opener - look at the salary's for the county attorney's office. I'd venture to say at least 1/2 of them don't even reside in Nassau County - or have fake addresses - and the bureau chiefs and senior attorneys with salary's over $70K have no qualifications for the positions they have. The "administrators" must number at least a dozen and 1/2 now, compared to the THREE administrators under Owen Walsh's office - and the budget and number of staff has probably more than tripled since 2000, with many of their staffers hiring illegals to clean house and babsit - whether live - ins or salaried - and you can bet they aren't paying into the worker's compensation fund for them - also illegal. Several rent out illegal basement apartments as well - to illegals & claim they're "relatives" of their nannies or some far-fetched story like that.

Let's see Clavin do an audit of that office. It'll shut-up Levinson's ugly face once and for all about patronage. Or does he think we all forgot about the NY Times articles about Suozzi NYC patronage appointments and the IDA group?

Or maybe we should start to question how come when you win a tax assessment hearing - his office refuses to prospectively adjust the assessment for future taxes - forcing double and triple the hearings otherwise necessary - in the solitary hope that the confusion his system causes, and the fact that the assessments are done and the deadlines for applying for hearings are done - so far in the future, with the hearings being 2 years behind and refunds being held up for 4 years - that taxpayers will get either so confused or disgusted that they'll miss the filing deadlines and not have an opportunity to challenge their severely overassessed homes? People just see their taxes and assessments going up, up and up even after winning a hearing - so they think the hearings are fruitless - because of Levinson's policy of refusing to adjust the current and future year's assessment based on a past year's hearing decision.

Or maybe we can talk about how he wants less teachers with more students in each class, garbage piles everywhere to cut down on sanitation fees and the imposition of an income tax on people who can't even find affordable housing as it is, while the rich just keep getting richer and digging into the pockets of the working class?

Levinson better watch his big mouth because for every can of worms he thinks he's opening, there's three more on "Team Suozzi" - or what's left of it.


Levinson made a bigger mess out of the assessors office and screwed the taxpayers even worse and he'll find a way to screw the TOH residents and mismanage the TOH even worse.

[sanotaarium]

isn't it civil service

"
Remember if Harvey wants to play all you have to do is go department by department in the County of Nassau and start naming those Democratic Committeemen, Zone Leaders, spouses of Zone Leaders (ie, Nancy Caraciolo's husband James in the County Park's Department), political contibutors that have gotten jobs in the County or at OTB. The lists are available and the comparrisons have been done. Harvey is opening up a Pandora's box he may not want to open....but he already did it....so I guess it will be interesting to see all the names come flying out of the County and OTB....let the games and mud begin.....

I think everyone can agree that patronage jobs go both ways. It's not a phenomenon created exclusively by the Town of Hempstead Republicans, although they have perfected it into an art form. I don't think people would even have a problem with the patronage if things at the Town of Hempstead were operating well and efficiently. But the fact remains, the TOH is a poorly run government entity, anyone who says otherwise needs to look up the definition of good government.

The patronage has become so entrenched in the Town of Hempstead that it is degrading service delivery. The only value the TOH is creating right now is for the people who benefit from the patronage mill. The number of family members who work for the TOH numbers in the hundreds. There are at least 40 people at the TOH connected to the Republican Party who make more than $100K with titles like "Fiscal Manager", "Secretary To Board Of Zoning Appeals", and "General Park Crew Chief." Some of these people like Joe Ra, who makes almost $140K at the TOH as an attorney, also pulls in a second salary with Sanitation District 6. Does this seem right? Is this how we want our local government to operate?

The TOH has been run by Republicans for over 100 years which is close to unprecedented in modern politics. However, everything has a shelf life and the TOH Republicans are way past their expiration date at this point. They are short on ideas and are managing reactively instead of proactively.

It's time for a change.

A change to what? The Suozzi/Levinson patronage system? Hmmm....I guess if it happened the Defense Bar in Nassau would be happy....more time sheet scandals...but only in the Town. You honestly think a Levinson/Suozzi patronage system would be better? And that would be a change? Did I miss something? At least with the TOH you are talking about COUNTY residents. I understand patronage all too well, but it still is benefitting COUNTY residents. Levinson/Suozzi would only bring in more City misfits to run the town. The model is there....Nassau County.

After Suozzi and his merry band of Democrat misfits deposed Tom DiNapoli Suozzi moved on to try to use the "disgruntled citizen" on the state level with fix albany.....well while he was able to band together the misfit Democrats in Nassau, he failed on the state level. But never mind, he will bring in his City cronies to get the financila edge to take on Spitzer...and you think this would not happen in the Town? It would just expand Suozzi's political back scratching to another level and Harvey would only be the puppet.

[CivilSvt]

Is it civil svc or not?