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By STEVEN DU BOIS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Monday, December 08, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





PITTSTON- There's no official record that City Council approved a key
policy change that contributed to former City Clerk Wil Toole's $36,000
windfall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The council meeting agenda from last June 11 called for three staff policy
items to be amended, but not the one that allowed Toole to convert overtime
hours to 747 sick days, Toole and Councilman James Kolmansberger said Sunday.
When he resigned last month, Toole was paid $25 for each of those sick days. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before the amendment was allegedly approved, overtime could be converted to
sick days, but those days were capped at 260. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not only was the amendment not on the agenda, Kolmansberger said, he had no
recollection of council approving it. Toole, who prepared council meeting
agendas, invoked the amendment to the "Benefits Adjustment" section of the
city's employment policy, when seeking to cash in the sick days. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The sick days, combined with unused vacation days, helped the former city
clerk collect a $36,000 going-away check when he retired, claiming a physical
disability last month. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I can't tell you why it's not there," Toole said of the missing agenda
item. "Perhaps I was interrupted; I assumed it was done. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a clerical error, that's all I can say. I make mistakes. Everyone
makes mistakes." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kolmansberger said the contested portion of the policy is also missing from
the official minutes of the June 11 meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Without that paragraph, he can't exceed 260 days," Kolmansberger said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mayor-Elect Michael Lombardo has asked the state Department of the Auditor
General to investigate the situation. Department officials told Lombardo to
draft a formal letter requesting the action. The letter is expected to be
completed this week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole said the sick-day conversion amendment should be considered a godsend
rather than a controversial issue because he devised it to save the city from
a truly mammoth overtime bill. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We were getting ready for a new administration," he said. "I'm trying to
cross the t's and dot the i's and a little trigger went off in my head
(regarding his 13 years of accrued overtime), so I created this change." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole said the city can either pay him inexpensive sick days or costly
overtime days. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Rip it up," he said of the amendment. "If they do, I'll get an extra
$116,000, roughly." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole accepted $25 per day on his 747 sick days. On a normal working day,
he makes $155. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kolmansberger said without the section, Toole simply reaches the 260-day
cap and then loses the rest of his overtime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Independent Counsel Dave Koff cited the amendment two weeks ago when he
ruled in Toole's favor on the matter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I have got to believe his ruling is invalid because it's based on
something that was never approved," Kolmansberger said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The city's nonuniform pension board will meet at 8 p.m. Wednesday at City
Hall and Toole's retirement is expected to be discussed at a public meeting.
If Toole's $36,000 payment is upheld, his annual pension will be about
$40,000. Capped at 260 sick days, his pension would be closer to $25,000. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole, who recently had his 1997 salary bumped by an additional $2,571 for
77 hours of overtime work on the 1998 budget, said nothing will happen at the
hearing because the pension board's only responsibility is to say whether he
can retire. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole said he will supply letters from three doctors, supporting his
disability claim. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm not concerned because when you're right, you're right," Toole said. "I
want the people throwing stones to finally run out of stones." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 City Controller Chris Latona, who is on the pension board, said Wednesday's
meeting might not be a slam dunk for Toole. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Nothing is guaranteed as of yet. Nothing," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 City Solicitor Michael Butera would not comment on the matter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kolmansberger has also questioned how Councilman Ken Scaz, who is in charge
of verifying the city clerk's overtime, could approve Toole's hours when he is
not at City Hall on a regular basis. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole said Scaz did not need to be at City Hall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "How do I know where the police chief is at all times? The fire chief? The
superintendent of streets?" asked Toole, who was in charge of approving
overtime for those positions. "No time sheet is verified by anyone, they are
only attested to." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lombardo has publicly called for Scaz's resignation. Scaz could not be
reached for comment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Amount Of Toole's Going-away Check In Question