Cop’s years add up

YOUNGSTOWN - A former city police captain who retired in September got a nearly $150,000 severance payment Thursday.

The Board of Control awarded the payment to former Capt. Franklin Palmer, the bulk of it made up of compensation time that was racked up in the 1980s before that time - known in the department as ''accumulated time'' - was capped.

Palmer was awarded a payment of $149,375. He retired from the department Sept. 13.

He was awarded 35 percent of his sick time and was also awarded for unused vacation days, uniform allowance and hazardous duty pay.

He received $68,858 for what was termed ''frozen accumulated time'' which he had acquired before a contract in the 1980s capped that time at 448 hours, for which he received another $19,429.

The amount of hours Palmer had under frozen accumulated time was 2,196 hours, according to records. He also received $45,062 for unused sick time, $13,159 for unused vacation time, $1,629 for longevity pay, $547 for hazardous duty pay and $311 for his clothing allowance.

Palmer was appointed to the force on Aug. 31, 1974, and retired after 38 years of service.

Police Chief Rod Foley said before the policy changed, officers were not paid overtime for court appearances but given the accumulated time, and when the policy changed, they were allowed to keep what they had acquired before the change but any further time was to be capped.

Palmer was eligible to be paid 80 percent of his pay rate for the frozen accumulated time, Foley said.

''The numbers are skewed because of the old accumulated time,'' Foley said.

Foley also said that Palmer declined the option of taking the money in three annual payments, which eases the burden on both the city's finances and Palmer's taxes, and opted to take it all in one lump sum payment.

Other severance packages approved Thursday were Philip Chance, who retired as a police officer on Sept. 13, $2,239, and Deborah Thompson, water department meter reader clerk, $9,064.