Feeding at the public trough

What do you do your first month of feeding on the public trough?

Why, go on vacation, of course!

"When Mayor Anthony M. Masiello swore in his 'Team Fire' in December, he outlined the daunting challenges the new leaders face as they begin overhauling fire services.

A short time later, two new deputy commissioners who started their $89,372 jobs the first week in December took actions that didn't go unnoticed by some firefighters.

They went on vacation.

David C. James and J. Gregory Love were only following city policy, officials insisted. An obscure provision allows noncivil service employees appointed by Buffalo's elected officials to take up to two weeks' vacation during the calendar year in which they're hired. As a result, James and Love were each entitled to 10 days' vacation in 2004, even though they were only on the payroll for a month. James said he took six days of vacation last month. Love took five. They decided to take some of their allotted time after an administrator called to tell them about the standard practice. 'We wouldn't have taken any time if we hadn't received that phone call,' said Love, a former fire administrator in Detroit who has become Buffalo's deputy commissioner for field operations.

'There's nothing wrong with it,' said Employee Relations Director Louis R. Giardina. 'That has been our policy.' "

Maybe, Mr. Giardina, it's time to change the policy.