Gone are the Days of Diego

The Days of special treatment are over for Firefighter 1st Class Diego Arencón. Tuesday, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Arencón - the IAFF Local 244 Union President - was instructed to report to Fire Chief Breen for assignment. Until Monday, Arencón was pulling down the tidy sum of around $90,000 (read our take here). Not too surprisingly, the suddenly poorer Arencón wasn't happy about the new arrangement.

The union negotiated for the president's salary when it reached a contract agreement with the city in 2008, and the city should honor it, Arencón said. The salary agreement is separate from the main union contract.

Arencón said firefighters "absolutely" will consider going to court to enforce the salary agreement. Refusing to honor it will cost the city legal fees, even though mayoral executives know "full well that their accusations aren't justified."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

But don't worry, back in December the members of IAFF 244 re-elected Diego to another term which means so he's still got access to the union credit card to pay for his coffee and trips to the local watering holes (read it here). What will be more interesting is whether or not the union membership will agree to pay for a lawsuit for the express purpose of getting Diego Commander's pay and out of having to do fight any fires.

The side agreement entered into by former Mayor and Not-So-Might Alcalde Martin Chavez was determined to be illegal by attorney and current CAO David Campbell.

In a memo to Arencón, Campbell said the salary agreement:

• Violates the anti-donation clause of the state constitution, which bars the city from providing a gift or aid to someone.

• Might violate state law making it a felony to use or accept public money for "services not rendered."

• Wasn't properly ratified.

• Violates the city's "Merit System Ordinance," which calls for employees to be paid according to a classification plan.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

What we're wondering is how Campbell - an attorney - can determine that Arencón's little side deal with Marty is illegal when he's got an even bigger fish - Ed Adams - making a lot more over in Municipal Development.

An agreement signed in 2006, when Martin Chávez was mayor, says Adams can keep his $147,000 annual salary even if he's moved into a lower-level job.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

That's where the 2006 memo comes in. Bruce Perlman, Chávez's chief administrative officer at the time, signed a memorandum telling Adams his "rate of pay will be maintained" if he ever returned to a regular city job.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The legal arguments used by CAO David Campbell in the Arencón case look strikingly similar to the ones made by policy analyst and attorney Bruce Thompson on behalf of city council despite the opinion of one of Marty's Minions - City Attorney Bob White - that the Adams' deal "does contain the essential elements of an enforceable employment contract" (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

Thompson's eight-page opinion outlines some potential problems with [former CAO under Marty] Perlman's action:

• It probably violates the city's Merit System Ordinance for employees, which says regular "classified" employees should be paid according to a plan based on their rank and classification. It's not clear that a CAO can "ignore the MSO by issuing an administrative instruction" on someone's salary.

•An administrative instruction that apparently gave Perlman the right to determine Adams' salary came from Perlman himself and may not be valid. In any case, it's not clear whether Perlman complied with it.

• The Adams' salary agreement could be considered a "professional services" contract that requires City Council approval.

• The Adams' salary agreement may violate the anti-donation clause of the state constitution, which prohibits the city government from making gifts. Adams' salary guarantee could violate that clause if it's intended to reward him for past work, and not compensation for future services.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Then there's Lawrence Torres who slipped in and out of APD and like a thief in the night stole a 20 year retirement and two months worth of an $80,000 a year salary from the department aided abetted by Ed Adams who signed a similar "agreement" with Torres.

Look... If Arencóns dirty deal with Marty is illegal then so too is Adams' deal signed by Perlman. If Adams' deal with Perlman is illegal then so is Torres' deal with Adams and for all of the same reasons.

Paying Firefighter Diego Arenón the same as other firefighters and requiring him to well, fight fires is a good start. But while the Days of Diego may be over, those benefiting from dirty side deals with the devil, uh... Marty are still in play and we're paying for them.

The Small Things

Mayor Berry is leading by example. The Albuquerque Journal is reporting that Berry declined the city's offer of a new mayor mobile.

Instead, Berry wanted a used vehicle out of the city's fleet.

"These things don't get you $50 million" in savings, Berry told the Journal recently. "What they do is set the tone."

The mayor ended up in a 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe LS. It has about 41,000 miles.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The mayor is absolutely right... every employee and every citizen looks to the mayor to set the "tone." If the mayor is driving a brand new set of wheels while having to slash the bloated budget, people have a hard time believing that the cuts are necessary. More importantly, people rightfully question his integrity.

The other element is consistency. Sure... taking a vehicle from the city motor pool is the right thing to do, but people won't forget the $12,000 a year raise he gave the new CAO. David Campbell makes roughly $12,000 a year more than his predecessor Ed Adams - who also managed to keep his $147,000 a year salary due to a backroom deal with the recently departed Almighty Alcalde.

The good news is that by saving the city some $40,000 plus, Mayor Berry just about broke even with Campbell and all it cost him was a new car.

1Out Of 2

Tuesday, Mayor-elect Berry filled two of his top positions - Darren White, Public Safety Director and David Campbell, Chief Administrative Officer.

Sheriff White is a solid pick for Public Safety Director. He was one of APD's own, headed up the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, and is currently in his second and - because of term limits - last term as Sheriff of Bernalillo County.

Currently the position of public safety director is held by Pete Dinelli - a lawyer. It's probably a good idea to have someone who has been a first responder in a position dealing with first response. However, we're not real sure that having a Chief of Chief's position is absolutely necessary - but that's a discussion for another day.

Berry's other pick could be somewhat more problematic. David Campbell - a Democrat - has been a city attorney under the Missing Mayor (Saavedra) and was an assistant to Mayor Kinney. He's worked for both Rs and Ds and therein may lie his problem.

Campbell's back and forth political relationships and mercenary nature may work for a lobbyist or lawyer, but the result is a bunch of folks on both sides of the isle that are none too fond of the CAO to be.

The Chief Administrative Officer requires council confirmation. Right now, the council isn't exactly falling all over itself to endorse Campbell as the new CAO.

Councilor Brad Winter, a Northeast Heights Republican, said he isn't sure Campbell will win enough votes for confirmation. He said he's concerned about Campbell's background as a land-use attorney who's contested city zoning decisions.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Land use issues often end up in front of the council. The council has a history of deciding these cases based on politics (they are a political body after all) and subsequently being overturned by the District Court because they failed to make a decision based on the law. Councilor Cadigan has firsthand experience in these matters.

The point is... attorneys like Campbell don't make a lot of political friends in the process. So, lets take a look at a possible vote with the assumption that the new guys Lewis and Cook will give the mayor what he wants.

For years, Campbell has represented eeeevil developers. Forget about O'Malley, Benton, and Garduno and our Eyes tell us that Councilor Sanchez is no fan. That leaves Harris and Jones. Jones appointed Campbell to the Charter Review Task Force, so we have our first definite yes. Harris could go either way. But let's assume that since he's worked with Representative Berry for the last few years, he gives the new mayor what he wants.

That's a 4 to 4 tie with Winter in the middle and Winter has already indicated that he is "concerned" about Campbell. Frankly, there's an even chance that Harris won't vote in favor of Campbell. There are simply more scenarios where Campbell ends up not becoming Ed Adam's replacement than there are scenarios where he does.

Mayor-elect Berry will get his public safety director. It's far less likely that he will get his first choice for CAO. In fact, Campbell better get back on the line with Obama and see if that Foreign Service gig is still available.