NY Daily News – July 16, 2015
by Erin Durkin
A top open government expert said Wednesday the firefighters union is right that the City Council is keeping too many secrets. The Uniformed Firefighters Association sued Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito this week, charging she and the Council illegally withheld information about a debate over hiking disability pensions for firefighters and cops.
The union filed a Freedom of Information Law request demanding the identity of a Council member who had submitted a bid to sponsor a disability resolution — blocking a more pro-union pol, Elizabeth Crowley (D-Queens), from moving forward with her own proposal.
“How could that be anything but public?” said Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
The Council denied the request citing attorney-client privilege, but Freeman said that claim sounds dubious.
“If there is a record that identifies a member of a governing body who has sought legislation, or has recommended that legislation be enacted, historically that is exactly the kind of material that is routinely disclosed,” he said.
A Council spokesman said the body followed the letter and the spirit of the FOIL mandate. Mark-Viverito said many of the union’s claims are “not factual” but declined to comment on the details.
The union wanted to change disability rules so that newly hired firefighters injured on the job would get 75% of their salaries.
Ultimately the Council backed a less generous proposal by Mayor de Blasio, but Albany, which has ultimate say, did not act on any of the changes.
No comments yet.