No one, says Putnam County sheriff

Rank is not everything, even when it pays nearly $134,000. 

Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville has asked the Legislature to reclassify a lieutenant’s position to first sergeant because an officer “voluntarily demoted himself” to deputy to make more money.

Despite the title and $133,888 salary, the lieutenant position is unattractive to officers because it doesn’t include overtime, McConville told the Legislature’s Personnel Committee before its members voted on Sept. 5 to send his request to the full body. 

Deputies, sergeants and first sergeants earn overtime, which can substantially boost their pay, said McConville. According to SeeThroughNY, a public database of municipal salaries, 30 Putnam deputies earned more than a lieutenant in 2023, led by Matthew Kraisky ($195,309), Christopher Tompkins ($170,383) and Peter Vigilio ($168,727). A lieutenant also is not eligible for compensatory time and is not represented by the union. 

McConville said he asked three officers who had passed a civil service exam for lieutenant, along with eligible sergeants, if they wanted the promotion. “In short, their answer was no,” he said. 

In March, the Legislature approved a five-year agreement with the Police Benevolent Association, which represents deputies, investigators and sergeants. PBA members received a 3.5 percent raise, retroactive to 2023, under the first year of the agreement, which expires in 2027. Salaries increased by 2.75 percent this year and will rise by the same amount in 2025. The final two years of the agreement include 3 percent raises. 

With the 2023 and 2024 raises, the existing first sergeant’s salary rose to $135,186 from $127,119. If the full Legislature approves the reclassification when it meets Oct. 1, the additional first sergeant will be assigned to the patrol division and earn $127,119. 

Increasing the salary for the lieutenant position “creates a problem” for higher ranks, McConville said, and raises would likely be needed for the undersheriff ($149,651) and the five captains ($141,624). 

Legislator Ginny Nacerino, who represents Patterson and is a member of the Personnel Committee, said that the problem is not limited to the Sheriff’s Department. County employees represented by other unions have declined promotions because their pay with overtime exceeds management salaries, she said.

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Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Leonard Sparks has been reporting for The Current since 2020. The Peekskill resident holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and previously covered Sullivan County and Newburgh for The Times Herald-Record in Middletown. He can be reached at [email protected].

3 replies on “Who Wants to Be a Lieutenant?”

  1. The situation in Putnam County is the same as that facing the New York City Police Department. Many officers would rather stay at the lieutenant rank than move up to captain because there is no overtime, and you are always on call. [via Facebook]

    1. The New York Post reported in March that only 21 percent of the NYPD lieutenants eligible to take the captain’s exam did so in 2023, down from 66 percent in 1997. It cited sources who said many lieutenants don’t seek promotion because captains don’t earn overtime or have steady schedules.

  2. Maybe it’s time to enact an up-or-out policy and hire more officers to reduce overtime. (I’m assuming the union wants the OT.) One officer shouldn’t have to be on duty 40-plus hours a week. [via Facebook]

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