Southampton Village vows more equitable payout for next police chief

Southampton Village paid its former police chief $774,000 upon his departure last year because of a contract that was "lopsided against the taxpayer," Mayor Jesse Warren said.

Now, as officials look for a new chief, Warren and his allies on the village board and the search committee are pledging to craft a contract that doesn’t slam village residents in the pocketbook.

The former chief of the department, Thomas Cummings, is now heading a state-funded office that analyzes Suffolk County crime data and is drawing down his $157,000 annual pension plus a six-figure salary since starting the job in November.

Suzanne Hurteau has been acting chief since Cummings’ September departure after the board voted not to renew his contract. At the time, Warren and other board members criticized the retirement package, negotiated under a previous administration, as overly generous and promised the next chief’s contract would avoid such payouts.

Warren said Cummings’ contract contained an unusually high amount of "fringe benefits," including night differential even though the chief did not work evenings.

"It was extraordinarily lopsided against the village taxpayer," Warren said. "We can set up a contract that appropriately compensates for a high level of experience yet doesn’t hurt our budget or balance sheet."

The village board voted at its Aug. 24 meeting to convene a search committee that now includes trustees Robin Brown and Roy Stevenson as well as Ed Moneypenny, a former chief financial officer of 7-Eleven, and the Rev. Michael Vetrano, pastor at The Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton, Warren said. Although the committee has been screening candidates, no decision is expected before April at the earliest, the mayor said.

Cummings, 57, of Wading River, became director of the Suffolk County Crime Analysis Center in Yaphank on Nov. 15, said Janine Kava, director of public information for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which funds the position.

Cummings began receiving his pension for his years with Southampton Village on Oct. 31, according to the state comptroller’s office. He is paid $110,000 a year in his new job.

Cummings joined the Southampton department in 1987 and became chief in 2011. His 2020 salary as police chief was $248,342, according to the village.

Government retirees under 65 typically need what is known as a Section 211 pension waiver to collect a public salary of more than $35,000 in addition to their pension, according to state Civil Service law. But because Cummings’ crime analysis job is paid through Globalquest Staffing Solutions, which is contracted by the state to staff the position, he is not a state employee and requires no waiver, Kava said.

Kava said he was selected for the job after receiving recommendations from a hiring panel, which included representatives from the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Cummings could not be reached for comment.

Representatives from Globalquest did not respond to requests for comment.

The center is one in a network of 10 data- and intelligence-sharing centers operated by the Division of Criminal Justice Services in partnership with local law enforcement agencies. Of the nine others in the state, four of the directors are state employees and have 211 waivers, three were hired through Globalquest and two are employees of their host police departments, are not retirees and thus do not need waivers, Kava said.

She said using the firm is the most efficient way to staff the newer centers like Suffolk, which was established in 2019.

"As demand for Crime Analysis Center services grew and the network expanded across the state, DCJS streamlined the hiring process," Kava wrote in an email. "The agency either contracts with a staffing firm or partners with the police agency hosting the center to assign a supervisor (sergeant, lieutenant or captain, for example) to oversee operations."

Globalquest has a $2.3 million contract with the Division of Criminal Justice Services to staff the centers, according to state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office.

Cummings oversees a staff of 21 that provides investigative support, intelligence development and crime analysis to help law enforcement agencies more effectively solve, reduce and prevent crime, Kava said.

John Kaehny, executive director of New York City-based think tank Reinvent Albany, said double dipping is common in New York and 211 waivers are usually granted when requested. Still, Kaehny called the practice of allowing a retiree to collect a pension while earning a government salary "outrageous" for its strain on taxpayers.

"This is a long-, long-standing abuse, and it’s part of the political culture of New York State where people think there’s nothing wrong with it," Kaehny said. "It’s outrageous, and it’s a rip-off for taxpayers. And it’s why cost of government in New York is so high."

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.