Two to three times a week, Michael Waterman drives 45 minutes from his Camden home to the Oneida County Office Building to attend a legislative meeting.
Representing Oneida County’s western-most towns on the Board of Legislators, Waterman utilizes a perk provided to some county workers and legislators to offset travel expenses — mileage reimbursement.
“On a cold winter’s night, it could be an hour there and an hour back, just for a 15-minute meeting,” said Waterman, a Republican. “For me, it’s not unfair to pay mileage.”
In 2009, Oneida County paid $22,543 to the county’s 29 legislators for mileage incurred by driving their personal vehicles on county business. Last year, that figure increased to $23,559, even though the reimbursement rate dropped from 55 cents to 50 cents per mile.
Reimbursements are provided when legislators drive from home to county-related business.
At least one legislator, however, is trying to put an end to the perk.
“One of the main points I’m trying to make is we need more transparency,” said Michael Hennessy, D-Sherrill.
A legislative reform package that included increasing the salaries for legislators - who currently earn a base pay of $8,368 - while stripping health benefits and mileage reimbursements was introduced by Hennessy last month. The proposal was soundly defeated by the board.
Hennessy said the reform would have saved the county about $220,000 annually.
“When you hand out mileage, it leads to abuse,” Hennessey said. “I’m not sure that it’s happening at this point, but it could be something that comes up down the road.”
Hennessy said he has resubmitted his reforms as individual resolutions.
Some legislators said the reimbursements are a benefit not exclusive to their board. County, state and federal employees receive mileage reimbursements for job-related travel.
The mileage also is calculated by legislative staff, who record mileage when legislators attend meetings. The practice, they said, regulates the process and decreases the potential for abuse.
At least seven other counties with similarly-sized populations provide mileage reimbursements for legislators, including Ulster, Chautauqua and Niagara. Rockland and Rensselaer counties, which have smaller square mileages, do not.
Martin Reid, chairman of the Rensselaer County Board of Legislators, said the cost of driving to meetings is considered an expense associated with the job.
Rensselaer County covers about 654 square miles versus the 1,221 square miles in Oneida County. Legislators have not received mileage reimbursements since the early 1980s.
“I think everybody just accepts it,” Reid said. “I would appreciate being able to deduct the mileage and depreciation on my car as a write-off, but I can’t do that either. It’s certainly something I’ve thought about.”
Oneida County Board Chairman Gerald Fiorini, R-Rome, received $4,050 in reimbursements for mileage in 2010, which outpaces his colleagues.
Fiorini said he finds himself in the Oneida County Office Building four to five times a week. That estimate jibes with the total miles he is recorded to have traveled last year.
Accounting for the roughly 34-mile round trip from Fiorini’s district to the office building, the chairman would have needed to make 4.6 round trips each week to fulfill the 8,100 miles for which he was reimbursed.
“I’m here in the office and I’m meeting with the county executive, the chief of staff and any legislator who wants to talk,” Fiorini said. “I could be here for the day, then I might have to return for a night meeting. It all depends on the week.”
Fiorini said he supports mileage reimbursements for legislators, especially members who drive to Utica from rural districts.
“A majority of those guys feel like it helps out,” he said. “With the price of insurance and gas, it’s something small that can help offset costs.”
Majority Leader David Wood, R-Rome, said the reimbursement is a way to equalize expenses for legislators who have to drive from districts on the opposite end of the county.
“You never want to discourage someone from attending extra meetings or going into Utica for any reason,” he said. “When the price of gas gets up there, it can be a significant expense for those people.”
Wood said the current reimbursement system is fair for each legislator.
Democrat Rose Ann Convertino, who lives in East Utica, said she supports the benefit.
“If you have to come from quite a distance, I have no issue with them being reimbursed for it,” Convertino said. “It’s only fair.”
Joseph Furgol, D-Utica, said the reimbursements help to offset the costs driving to Oriskany and Rome for committee meetings. If the county decides to take away the benefit, it would not sway him from doing his job.
“Either way, it’s not making me a millionaire,” he said.
For Waterman, who received $1,951.30 in 2010, the reimbursements are a way to help legislators recoup the costs of driving to meetings.
“I can understand what someone is trying to do to save money,” he said. “But from an equitable standpoint, this isn’t the way to go about it.”
