Let’s revisit the strange and unusual world of hiring practices in the City of North Miami.

Taking up where we left off, the city’s fiscal health is still reeling from the unintended negative consequences of its Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP).  The web of deception perpetrated by those who benefited from this fiasco, including those who “retired” with golden parachutes, only to be hired back at a higher pay rate, continues to cost North Miami taxpayers more than they bargained for.

Let’s attempt to untangle this web and see where it all leads.

As I reported earlier, former Assistant Personnel Director Susan Luglio took advantage of the ERIP and retired on November 15, 2013.  Her salary at the time was $40.11 per hour.  Luglio supplemented her monthly retirement benefit of $4,425.10 (approximately $25.53 hour), by getting rehired as a contract employee at the rate of $50.00 per hour.

Susan Luglio’s total salary of $75.53 per hour is, of course, courtesy of North Miami taxpayers.

During the course of her contract employment, Susan Luglio became the Acting Personnel Manager after former Personnel Director Rebecca Jones retired.

On February 24, 2015, Luglio extended an offer of employment to her future boss, Joseph Roglieri, for the position of Assistant Personnel Manager.  He started his new job on March 2, 2015 at annual starting salary of $73,492.00, or $35.33 per hour.

Four months later on July 1, 2015, Roglieri was promoted to Interim Personnel Manager.  On October 1, 2015, he snagged the top job of Personnel Director, at which time his annual salary was increased to $86,798.40, or $41.73 per hour.

A month and a half later on November 16, 2015, in accordance with a directive by brand new Interim City Manager Arthur Sorey, Joseph Roglieri received yet another pay raise to $92,228.80 per year, or $43.86 per hour.

This latest salary increase was promised to Roglieri in exchange for hiring Sorey crony, Paola Pierre, as his Assistant Director.

Under the North Miami Friends & Family Plan, of course.

Incredibly, in less than eight and a half months on the North Miami payroll, Joseph Roglieri received a pay increase of more than 24%.

But, wait.  There’s more!

The entire premise of the Early Retirement Incentive Program was based on the intent to hire replacement employees earning “salaries equal to 30% less than the members they are replacing.”  As I already reported in a previous post, When Good ERIPs Go Bad, Part I,  had former City Manager Stephen Johnson’s ERIP been implemented properly, it “would have resulted in a huge windfall to the city’s bottom line.”  However, as I noted, “Johnson’s successor, Aleem Ghany, and his then-Budget Director (and future-Deputy Manager) Arthur Sorey, essentially invalidated the potential ERIP savings by mismanaging their hiring decisions.”

By the time Joseph Roglieri had been appointed Personnel Director, his salary should have been at least 30% less than the $51.34 per hour that Rebecca Jones was earning at the time she retired under the ERIP.

If that policy had been adhered to, Roglieri’s starting salary as Director should have been no more than $35.94 per hour, or $74,755.20 per year.  Considering he’s now making $92,228.80, his salary is over 23% more than was envisioned by the architects of the ERIP.

Adding insult to injury, Art Sorey’s pet employee Paola Pierre, who replaced “retired” Assistant Director Susan Luglio, receives a salary of $39.73 per hour, or $82,638.40 per year.  Luglio was earning $40.11 per hour when she “retired.”

Again, if the 30% salary reduction policy had been adhered to, replacement employee Paola Pierre’s starting salary as Assistant Director should have been no more than $28.08 per hour, or $58,385.60 per year.

But under the North Miami Friends & Family Plan, Art Sorey had already hand-picked Paola Pierre for the Assistant Director position.  And since Paola told Roglieri that “she needs $82,644 to accept the position,” in order to “ensure parity” Sorey gifted her boss with another raise.

Of course, it’s not Art Sorey’s money, so why should he care?

Besides, poor Joe really, really … really  needs the money.

Although he receives what is most likely a generous pension as the former Human Resources Director from the City of Hollywood, an $85,200.00 job from which he retired in 2012, he still  has trouble making ends meet.

Consider this.

According to the job description for the position of Assistant Personnel Manager, at least three of the 22 “Essential Job Functions” are fiduciary in nature.  Among other functions, this particular employee is expected to:

• Coordinate and development department budget;
• Assure effective and efficient use of budgeted funds;
• Assist in collective bargaining activities.

The person hired for the position of Personnel Director is also required to have “good knowledge of the funding process in a municipal environment as related to budgeting.”

Incredibly, by the time Joseph Roglieri applied for the job, North Miami had already reinstated the policy of performing background checks on potential employees.  For high level employees, especially directors in charge of departmental budgets, the background checks also included credit reports.

Uh, oh!

I’m guessing that if Joe had any inkling his credit report would become a public record, he might have rethought his decision to apply for a government job.

And, yet, here it is.

The individual who would be in charge of a Personnel Department budget of $31,218,237 for the Fiscal Year 2014-15, which is equal to 55% OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET for the City of North Miami, has absolutely no control over his own personal finances.

This is an individual who is expected to “assure the effective and efficient use of budgeted funds” for the entire Personnel Department, and have “good knowledge of the funding process,” yet he cannot figure out how to effectively or efficiently live within his own personal budget.

This is an individual whose original $219,602.00 mortgage in 2009 to Seterus, Inc. (then transferred to SunTrust Mortgage) was OVER 120 DAYS PAST DUE ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS!

Even more disturbingly, this SunTrust Mortgage was OVER 120 DAYS PAST DUE AT THE TIME HE WAS HIRED!

But, wait.  There’s more!

Five creditors listed “settled – less than full balance” on his credit report:

1. Bank of America, a debt for which he was OVER 120 DAYS PAST DUE THREE TIMES;
2. Citi-Shell, which went into collection and then settled for a lower amount;
3. Chase, a debt for which he was OVER 120 DAYS PAST DUE TWENTY TIMES;
4. Citibank, a debt for which he was OVER 120 DAYS PAST DUE TWICE;
5. Two accounts with Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (a national debt collection agency), both of which went into collection and then settled for less than the full balance.

Seriously.  How on earth was this man hired in the first place?

North Miami taxpayers should be more than concerned that an individual who is so incredibly irresponsible with his own personal finances CONTROLS MORE THAN HALF OF THE CITY’S BUDGET!

Why did Aleem even bother performing a background check on Roglieri – or any employee, for that matter – if the results were just going to be ignored?

Seriously.  What the hell was Aleem thinking?

Yeah, that was a rhetorical question.

Actually, they’re all rhetorical questions.  This is North Miami after all, where no one ever seems to have the answer.

Due to a disastrous combination of the complete incompetence of former City Manager Aleem Ghany and the deliberate mismanagement by his then-Budget Director/future-Deputy Manager/wannabe City Manager, Arthur Sorey, the Early Retirement Incentive Program turned out to be yet another North Miami budgetary boondoggle.

And as usual, North Miami taxpayers are getting totally ripped off by financing the North Miami Friends & Family Plan.

The good news is that hope SPRINGS eternal.

Pun very much intended.

In the short time he has been at the helm, newly appointed City Manager Larry Spring appears to be taking charge.

And taking no prisoners.

With Mr. Spring’s prior experience as Chief Financial Officer of the City of Miami, “the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States,” it’s a safe bet that he’s more than capable of running North Miami.

Cleaning up the collateral damage left in the wake of a string of corrupt and incompetent former city managers will not be easy.  But we have every reason to believe that Larry Spring is more than up to the task.

After all, North Miami residents deserve the very best!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”