Like most ideas in government, the devil is in the details. As Mayor Timothy C. Lattimore gives more of his views on what he would like to see done with the creation of a Public Safety Commissioner, he hurts his cause for reform. Recent comments on the subject show a lack of operational practicality and sensitivity to a real issue nationwide - pay disparity between genders.

Creating a commissioner, who would oversee both the fire and police departments, in general, may have merit. The idea of creating such a post in a time when local governments are trying to shrink overhead costs is not new. For more than a decade, Auburn has regularly considered it and several communities have created this type of post. Besides the mayor, at least two members of the council like the idea. One of the difficulties of doing this in Auburn is in the past, both departments have had chiefs who have been the heads of their departments for some time. While it might have been logical to look at creating such a post, there were too many political hurdles to overcome. Chief among them - who becomes whose boss?

The soon-to-be retirement of Chief Michael Quill (who felt compelled to retire because of the mayor's comments on his leadership capabilities) gives the opportunity to create the post without penalizing someone who currently holds one of the two top spots. Making this change now might be more propitious because two of the current five assistant fire chief positions are also unfilled, due to retirements, thus allowing for a larger re-organizational shift.

So when the mayor tossed out the idea, it didn't sink like a lead balloon, as it might have, had circumstances been different. But it didn't take him long to hurt his own cause, first by suggesting that who ever filled the job, would be paid only $60,000 to run both departments, some $23,634 less than Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta now receives. To make matters worse, the mayor indicated he hoped a woman would take this lower-paying position with greater responsibility.

If the goal is to just save money, then it makes more sense to promote either Giannotta, or one of the three remaining assistant chiefs (should they all meet the qualifications for the job) to the post at a salary equal to or greater than what the chief is currently getting, saving most of a whole management salary and commensurate benefits by not filling the post of whoever is promoted.

What may have been most intriguing about the mayor's comments is that he hopes that a woman, who would be paid more than 25 percent less than the current incumbents and would have more responsibility; would oversee two departments. Talk about the proverbial “glass ceiling.” One would think that, with a working daughter and a new granddaughter, he would champion gender equity not perpetuate it by stereotype.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com