By Lou Michel
The Buffalo News
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo police and firefighters who say they have been injured on duty will soon answer to the commissioners in their respective departments, who know the staff culture best, instead of to a City Hall administrator.
The move is expected to reduce, especially with police, the number of officers claiming they cannot work because of job-related injuries, a situation that has steadily increased since monitoring was taken over by City Hall several years ago.
At times, there have been more than 100 officers out on indefinite paid sick leave. Last year, it cost city taxpayers almost $10 million, and more than $10 million is expected to be spent this year in salaries, overtime, case management and medical costs for the state-mandated benefit.
“We’ve tried to make changes within the Department of Human Resources, gave that a chance, and came to realize that better and more personal case management would occur through the police and fire commissioners,” City Finance Commissioner Janet E. Penksa said.
The shift in responsibilities follows several years of efforts by Mayor Byron W. Brown to contain rising costs and, most recently, disharmony in his administration when Human Resources Commissioner Karla L. Thomas argued with the mayor and his staff on whether she was moving quickly enough to make changes.
Requests for proposals from companies that specialize in managing injured-on-duty cases are being drafted, and the city expects to hire medical experts in the next two months to assist the police and fire departments as they reclaim control.
“We’re looking forward to taking it back. We believe we have a better plan for managing our IOD officers,” interim Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said Tuesday.
Police officials say they want the city to hire a police surgeon and nurse practitioner they can work with in managing the cases.
“Not everyone is scamming, and you need to get people back in a quicker, more efficient manner,” Derenda said of complaints that officers have had to wait extended periods to receive medical treatment.
Fire Commissioner Garnell W. Whitfield Jr. said his department is in a much better position to judge whether someone has been hurt on the job.
“It was my job as chief fire administrator for 81/2 years to process disabilities on behalf of members of this department, and I anticipate that the return of these duties will make for a more aggressive and efficient system of dealing with injured-on-duty personnel,” Whitfield said.
City officials point out there will be less room for abuse if the police commissioner and his Internal Affairs Division staff directly oversee the injured.
“When Derenda has ordered officers back from IOD to light duty, they have instead chosen to return to full duty,” acting Corporation Counsel David Rodriguez said. “The police and fire commissioners have a good sense of the culture of their own ranks and can truly identify and manage their own injured.”
There are multiple benefits to allowing the commissioners to run the program, Penksa said: faster return to work, more police protection for citizens, cost reductions and, most important, better care of those with bona fide injuries.
Human Resources took over IOD management in 2003 when Leonard A. Matarese served as that department’s commissioner. However, the plan did not live up to expectations, and the number IOD cases increased from an average of 40 to 60 officers during pay periods to sometimes more than 100.
In the Fire Department prior to 2003, the average daily count of long-term injured firefighters was 20 to 25 when Whitfield, then chief fire administrator, was overseeing IODs. When those duties shifted to City Hall, the daily average increased to as many as 75 firefighters.
“I was involved with this before Human Resources, and they never really had the wherewithal to manage it,” Whitfield said.
“You have to have your finger on the pulse with this. You have to understand what the men and women of this department go through on a daily basis. People get hurt doing this job, and it’s important to get the best and quickest care we can for them.”
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