Mana er TheNewYorkCity - NYC MEA

1 Managerial EmployeesAssociation PresidentStephen M. Ferrerannounced the creation offour additional legal serv-ices benefits for MEAmembers only. The lawoffices of Stuart Salleswill now provide ourmembers with importantjob related legal expansion of benefitswill provide members with legal representation in four areas:nAttendance with any MEAmember at any interview with anyinspector general of any department of the City of New and representation of any MEA member who is beingdisciplined by any agency of the City of New with any MEAmember who is being interviewedfor any potential discipline with the Department of Investigationof the City of New referred by the MEA Executive Director, any legal issue that affects an MEAmember s job. In order to access these services, members must contact the MEAoffice at (212) Ferrer said, Thisis an important step forward in provid-ing legal representation for MEA members in matters before Cityagencies. For the first time, MEA members will have trained, expe-rienced legal counsel available to them for these critical issues.

2 Managers are entitled to the best representation possible whenconfronted with these adversarial proceedings, said Stuart Salles. My office has years of experience assisting and defending Cityworkers in these venues. I m very optimistic that we will be ableto serve MEA members well in their times of job related legal dif-ficulties. The MEA Executive Board decided to retain the Law Offices ofStuart Salles as the MEA Legal Counsel following the resignationof Robert N. Felix as the MEA counsel. Mr. Salles firm has beenproviding these expanded services for job related matters for MEAmembers effective January 1, Ferrer and the Organization Committee previouslyannounced an expansion of the free non-work related legal consul-tations for MEA members, their spouses and domestic partners canreceive from the Law Offices of Stuart Salles. The services includea free consultation benefit to any MEA member seeking informationregarding the filing of a disability retirement and social security dis-ability proceeding.

3 This benefit includes a full and complete med-ical and legal evaluation of any member s proposed filing withoutcost or reviewing the material, the office will render a candid opin-ion concerning the strength of the proposed case. Following thisconsultation, the member will be free to proceed on their own, seekthe law offices counsel, or seek the counsel of another members, their spouses and domestic partners continueto enjoy non-job related legal advice without charge. This uniqueprogram, initiated in 2004 with the law offices of Stuart Salles, pro-vides active and retired members with legal consultations, at no costto them, in a variety of critical areas estate planning, health careproxies and wills, powers of attorney, landlord-tenant disputes andreal estate transactions, adoption, child custody disputes and otherfamily court matters, separation and divorce, name changes, immi-gration services, personal injury claims and criminal that is required to obtain these non-job related legal servicesis to call the Law Offices of Mr.

4 Salles at (212) 267-9090, identifyyourself as an MEAmember and state the area you re interested indiscussing. Upon arrival at the law firm, located at 225 Broadway,Suite 1900, you must present your MEA identification card. At theend of the legal consultation if the matter discussed cannot beresolved without further legal assistance, the member can thenchoose to obtain legal counsel elsewhere or the member and thelegal counsel can agree to continue at a special reduced rate nThe New York CityManaerApril 2007 Volume X1l1 No. 1 Stuart Salles, MEA s Legal Counsel,brought good tidings of expanded legalbenefits to the 2006 Holiday New Job Related Legal Services Benefits Are Created Exclusively For MEA MembersgIn 2005, the MEA provided a test prep course for members thatwere eligible to take the Promotional Administrative Staff Analystexam. As a result, over 90% of those attending our sessions suc-cessfully passed the now, the MEA has been informed that our member man-agers and other eligible managers in city service are eagerly await-ing to take the upcoming Administrative Manager s exam in June2007.

5 The MEA understands how important it is to be well pre-pared for such a challenging career move, and we are now in thepreparation stages of recognizing the areas of assistance the man-ager s may need. So, the MEA plans to provide test prep coursefor the Promotional Administrative Manager far we have planned:MEA SPRING GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGTUESDAY MAY 29, 2007 6 PM33 Beaver Street Conference Room 1733(Department of Homeless Services)MEA Preparing Admin ManagerTest Prep Course for June ExamContinued on page 42 April 2007 The New York City ManagerPresident sPlaceA major goal of my presidency con-tinues to be ensuring that all man-agers receive an across the boardgeneral wage increase every year. Our advocacy with theBloomberg administration has made this , MEA also firmly believes in the concept of meritincentives. Indeed, pay for performance is the foundation forany sound salary administration program. MEA contendsthat there has never been a permanent, comprehensiveplan of merit increases for managers proposed by the Giuliani administration used the term merit not as away of rewarding managers, but as a way of lowering ordenying raises to managers who performed recommends a true pay for performance system inwhich incentive payments, that are not part of the basesalary, would be awarded annually for recognizing achieve-ments against objectives and responsibilities as stated in anagreed upon performance evaluation document.

6 This incen-tive program would be available for all levels of managerialservice not only senior management , merit increases for managers are not fundedas separate budget items. Instead, agencies fund the program through unspent dollars. This has harmed someagency s operations because spending was curtailed torelease sufficient funds to finance the merit increases. It hasalso caused inconsistencies since some agencies have pro-vided merit increases while others have not. Therefore, MEA recommends the implementation of aonce-a-year predictable pay for performance program that isconsistent with the city s overall managerial compensationstrategy and plan. We further recommend that the programbe fully funded centrally with dedicated funds. The develop-ment of such a program with predictable and consistentfunding will help the city to reward, retain and motivate effec-tive , and most importantly, MEA firmly believes thatany Pay for Performance Option is not a salary plan andcannot replace the establishment of a salary plan for careermanagers.

7 Remuneration under this performance evaluationprogram would be in addition to increases under a salary will schedule a meeting this spring with the City Officeof Labor Relations to discuss this and other issues of impor-tance to the MEAmembership. We will keep you postedregarding any developments. Contact our hotline and/orwebsite. I am looking forward to seeing you at our generalmembership meeting on May 29 at 33 Beaver Street,Conference Room 1733, 6 UnityStephen M. FerrerDeferred Compensation PlanChanges in Federal law now allow man-agerial and confidential employees who aresevering from City service to defer theireligible annual leave, sick leave and comptime balances into their Deferred Compensa-tion Plan accounts rather than receivingthese funds as cash. Employees can chooseto defer their Managerial Lump Sum pay-ments and alleviate the large tax burdenthat would otherwise come with theaccrued leave year, the annual maximum contri-bution into the 457 or the 401(k) is $15,500or $20,500, if age 50 or older.

8 For employ-ees with both the 457 and the 401(k) (eitherpre-tax or Roth) accounts, the annual maxi-mum contribution is $31,000, or $41,000 ifage 50 or older. There is no additional feefor participating in both assistance with enrolling in the 457or 401(k), or changing your deferral percent-ages, please contact the Deferred Compensa-tion Plan at (212) 306-7760 or go online New York City Employee IRAAll New York City employees andretirees (except OTB and CulturalInstitutions and Librariesemployees/retirees) are eligible to open anaccount and consolidate all of their retire-ment assets with the New York CityEmployee IRA. This option offers tax flex-ibility, stretch IRA estate planning andthe low cost of the Deferred CompensationPlan s investments and portfolios. To findout more, call (212) 306-7760 or (888)IRA NYCE (if outside NYC) or go onlineat Care ProgramEffective January 1, 2007, the VisionCare Program network of participatingproviders is expanding to include DavisVision s nationwide provider Benefit Fund (MBF) membersacross the country can now utilize DavisVision s network of providers in order toreceive in-network locate an in-network provider, con-tact Davis Vision at (800) 999-5431 or and enter yourSocial Security Number and the first fiveletters of your last name.

9 You can alsoaccess the Davis Vision web site throughthe MBF web site at of Labor Relations representativesSamirra Rothschild and Monte Newtonaddress Management Benefits Fund issues at the Fall General Membership Benefits Fund UpdatesThe New York City Manager April 2007 3 Lorene Gilmore was named MEAM anager of the Year for 2006 by theMEA organization committee. She willbe presented the fourth Raymond Memorial Award for New YorkCity manager of the year at the May 29general membership Gilmore was appointed theAssociate Commissioner for AdultOperations in the Department ofProbation in January 2006. She joinedthe department in 1985 as a ProbationOfficer. She was promoted toSupervising Probation Officer, BranchChief, and Assistant Commissioner ofAdult Operations prior to her mostrecent Commissioner of AdultOperations Iris M. Hill, who nominatedMs. Gilmore, said, When she was pro-moted to the position of AssociateCommissioner, the staff in QueensCounty honored her with a plaque forher service.

10 We have worked togetherfor many years, and as her directsupervisor, it is an honor to work with Gilmore has always been inter-ested in the development, implementa-tion and evaluation of innovative pro-gram services for both adult and juve-nile populations. She also helped toestablish an alternative to incarcerationprogram for adults, and supervised aDay Treatment Center that servicedprobationers in violation of their condi-tions of probation and provided themopportunities for positive change. Shehas worked collaboratively with numer-ous criminal justice agencies and com-munity-based organizations. Inaddition to being a member of theManagerial Employees Association,Ms. Gilmore is active in the AmericanProbation and Parole Association andthe Baldwin Educational Associationand serves as the Treasurer of theSecond Baptist Church ScholarshipCommittee. Lorene Gilmore exemplifies all thefine qualities we value, said MEAP resident Stephen M. Ferrer. Sheworked her way up in the ProbationDepartment by passing civil serviceexams and performing her duties pro-fessionally.