Looking back, maybe it was a bad idea to fire Roger Melchior.
Financially, anyway.
Even though the chronically unemployed former fire chief only lasted two months, at least he was earning the base salary of $79,092.
Since Melchior was fired in February 2011 for making racial remarks on a website, the city has been without a fire chief for nearly a year.
The city's battalion chiefs have been picking up the slack, and their overtime is no joke for taxpayers.
The base salary for a battalion chief is about $72,000, but the five battalion chiefs racked up $244,000 in overtime last year, according to figures from 2011.
That's more than three times the cost of a fire chief.
The salary for fire chief in 2011 was $79,092, meaning that the absence of a chief cost the city an extra $164,000.
"I think they have managed to keep the overtime very reasonable," City Controller Maria Brown told the City Council earlier this month. "It's not gotten out of hand. They're really managing the department well."
Chances are that the battalion chiefs would have made some overtime even if a fire chief was in place, but not $244,000.
"If the mayor would have hired a fire chief, we would not be in this situation with the overtime," City Council Chairman Sam Fruscione said. "This is not the fault of the battalion chiefs. They are just doing their duty to fill the vacancy that the mayor refuses to fill.
"The battalion chiefs are running a very orderly and professional fire department, for not having a fire chief," he added.
"It's unbelievable," Councilman Glenn Choolokian said of the overtime. "It seems like the track record is horrible with hiring department heads."
Choolokian said city officials will be taking resumes for the fire chief post until Jan. 26.
So far, there have been two applications from within the department, he said.
"There's so much local talent here in town," Choolokian said. "I wish they could start looking in town. You bring these people in from out of town and they don't even know what's going on. It's no good."
Of the five battalion chiefs, one made $144,000 in 2011. The others made $133,000, $113,000, and two made $107,000 each, according to records.
The fire chief position got a $4,000 raise this year, up to $83,909, according to the 2012 budget.
All they need to do is fill the post.
In addition to fire chief, the city has at least two additional posts that are currently vacant: human resources director and community development director.
City Administrator Donna Owens said at the Jan. 9 City Council meeting, "We're going to move as expeditiously as possible. Now that we have started the mayor's second term, it gives a four-year opportunity for these applicants ... so this is a top priority of ours."
Of the Dyster adminstration's lack of action in filling the post, Councilman Bob Anderson said, "It's brutal. People voted to put him back in office in this city. I didn't vote for him. They voted for leadership. You reap what you sow. All this national search stuff is bullshit ... if you hire somebody who's in the city, who's got the knowledge, then you get through all this B.S."
The salaries for department leaders at City Hall practically set a new precedent for high pay in city government for a city with the size, population and per capita income of Niagara Falls.
Police Chief John Chella's final gross salary was $125,000 in 2011.
City Administrator Donna Owens draws a salary of $110,000. Before Dyster was mayor, the salary for the city administrator was $60,000.
Acting director of the Code Enforcement Department and code enforcement officer Dennis Virtuoso made $26,000 of overtime in 2011, pushing his earnings over $100,000. Guy Bax, the man he replaced, made $65,000.
City Engineer Jeffrey Skurka's salary was $96,000 in 2011. Former city engineer Robert Curtis, who was fired by Dyster on day one of his administration, made $68,000.
Longtime Niagara Falls firefighter Nick Vilardo last year volunteered to apply for the fire chief's position for $30,000.
Vilardo served 30 years on the city Fire Department, 12 as a captain, six as battalion chief, and six as the chief of fire prevention and code enforcement officer. He also currently serves on the board of New York State Fire Investigators.
After letters and phone calls directed to Dyster went unanswered, Vilardo was finally moved to simply show up at City Hall and appeal to the mayor personally.
He told Dyster that he was already covered under the city's health insurance program, and that he would take the fire chief's job for a salary of just $30,000 a year.
Dyster essentially blew Vilardo off, telling him that an exhaustive nationwide search was being conducted, and that someone with "real" credentials was going to be brought in.
Melchior, according to the mayor, was selected over 30 other candidates. As to the procedure that lies behind hiring the brightest and best, Melchior said he was interviewed first by telephone by a cadre of people, then invited for an in-person interview. There were five or six people, including the mayor, present.
Sources in the Fire Department suggest that Melchior's job record and comportment hardly indicate he was the best and brightest a national search could produce.
Melchior was in the Baltimore Fire Department for 22 years, starting as a firefighter and rising to lieutenant training officer. He left the department in 1990. Afterward, he worked for All American Environmental in Baltimore for five years. His next job took him to Allouez, Wis. -- population: 15,000 -- where he was Public Safety director for six years.
After leaving that position in 2001, Melchior had some difficulties getting gainful employment. At one point, he decided to let his wife work and he would, he said, be "Mr. Mom."
Melchior said he was on 50 interviews before he landed a job here.
As to his comportment, after he was selected, the mayor introduced him to the Council and, asked to speak, Melchior said he told the Council, "Nope. I'm a plainspoken man. I don't need to make a speech."
Then, not five minutes after he had been sworn in, he collapsed in the parking lot and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Shortly after he recovered from his initial collapse, Melchior fell in the Walmart parking lot and broke his ankle.
It was almost December 2010 before he started work.
And apparently he insulted firefighters. When some, eager to get to know their leader, came to Melchior offering their hands and telling him their names, Melchior declared, "I am not going to remember your names until I've been here for a while."
And Melchior was sharply criticized because -- after being on sick leave for a month and working less than one month -- he took a paid vacation during Christmastime to return home to St Petersburg.
"At work I had vacation allotment," Melchior said. "I went to my supervisor (City Administrator Donna Owens) and it was approved."
Still, when Melchior returned from vacation, he called in sick, this time with the flu, and was out again.
"He had a bad time when he was moving up," the mayor explained at the time. "We're trying to give him some time to work it out."
If you took a poll of firefighters, one suspects that, while former fire chief William Mackay was well liked among the 135 firefighters of this city, Melchior is viewed with suspicion and some contempt.
Melchior was fired in February 2011 after a series of insensitive comments attributed to him regarding Arab-Americans were posted on an online message board.
E-mail Ron Churchill at ronchurchill@yahoo.com.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Jan. 24 2012 |