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ROOKIE COPS FACING FOOD-STAMP 'POVERTY'By MURRAY WIESS February 16, 2006—The city's reduced startng salary for the NYPD's newest class of recruits is forcing rookies at the Police Academy to apply for food stamps, sources told The Post. Union sources said that 10 recruits in the current class of 1,436 new cops have applied for the financial subsidies to help stave off bill collectors and keep food on the table. Police officials yesterday said that one young cop — now training at the Academy and carrying several dependents on the lowered, $25,100 salary — was steered to the city's Human Resources Administration to see if he qualified for food stamps. The revelation that food stamps have become a possibility for some cops has renewed the sniping over NYPD wages, who is responsible for the decision to slash rookie starting pay by $11,000, and its impact on recruitment and retention. Under the new contract, rookie cops are paid an annualized $25,100 during their first six months, after which their salaries jump to $28,900. Officials say that, at the lower level, a cop carrying several dependents could be eligible for a potential $7,500 food stipend until the higher salary kicks in if the officer's adjusted gross income falls a couple of thousand dollars. But city officials said that with overtime, an average cop will make $36,000 in his first year — and at that level only cops with six kids or more would qualify for assistance. The National Center for Children in Poverty reports generally that the gross income for a family of three would have to be $20,300 to be eligible for food stamps. The formula, however, is complicated, and includes an applicant's assets such bank accounts, homes and cars. Jordan Barowitz, a mayoral spokesman, insisted it would be rare for a young cop to qualify and that none would be eligible once they complete six months. The city and the union have begun negotiations on a new contract, but there were still plenty of hard feelings over the last deal. Mayor Bloomberg placed the blame for the low starting pay on the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, claiming the union wanted to go to binding arbitration rather than negotiate with the city and then agreed to the reduction in order to enhance the wallets of existing members. "[It] was done at the request of the PBA," Bloomberg said. "They wanted to move monies from those who hadn't joined the department to those who've been there a long time." "But," he added, "the arbitrator made a mistake." Patrick Lynch, the PBA president, fired back that the union "sought binding arbitration in the last two police contracts because of the city's insistence that any sorely needed and clearly deserved raises be funded by givebacks. In both cases the arbitrators found that NYC cops were grossly underpaid and awarded far more than the city was prepared to offer." Lynch added that the NYPD recruitment problem was not the starting salary, but the top salary, which is well below that of other local police agencies. |
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