>Port Authority Secret perks under probe
The New York Comptroller’s Office is reviewing whether the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey incorrectly included hidden executive bonuses in figures used to calculate their pensions.
The annual bonuses were given to only 11 “essential” employees in 2002 and are equal to between 4.5 percent and 11 percent of their salaries, The Record reported this week. The extra payout, called Longevity I, was one of several that Port Authority lawyers initially refused to disclose because they said it would be an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Agency officials later acknowledged they have included the perks in employee earnings reported to the retirement system, effectively boosting pensions for some of the region’s highest-paid public employees. (Boburg, The Record)
