Local News
CITY OF LOCKPORT: Assistant youth director's suspension is lifted
The assistant youth and recreation director is back on company time today after Mayor Michael Tucker reduced the employee’s suspension over city vehicle misuse.
Tucker said he cut back Anthony J. Nemi’s unpaid work suspension to two days Thursday by accepting a no-contest settlement offer from Nemi’s union, Civil Service Employees Association.
Nemi, a Niagara County legislator, was suspended Tuesday after admitting he had allowed his 18-year-old son and a friend, both part-time youth department employees, to take a city van on a “field trip” out of town this past Saturday. The trip was not an official youth department function, was not sanctioned by Youth Bureau Executive Director Melissa Junke and was not open to the public.
The young adults’ use of the van triggered a police search Saturday night after a witness reported seeing the van being driven aimlessly around the city. That report caused police to proceed as if the van had been stolen; the van was stopped by police at Altro Park, the youth department’s headquarters.
Nemi’s son told police he had his father’s permission to use the van. Nemi confirmed the same to police, and five occupants in the van, ages 16 to 18, were released.
Nemi was suspended by Tucker for violating the city vehicle use policy, which calls for the van to be used only for city business. The suspension was unpaid and was in effect pending the outcome of a Common Council personnel committee ruling today. The committee was to vote on upholding, shortening or lengthening the suspension, as is called for in CSEA’s contract when the mayor and the union don’t agree on discipline.
Tucker said the CSEA unit president proposed, and he agreed to, a two-day punishment and no personnel hearing. Since there is no longer a grievance for it to consider, the personnel committee meeting is canceled, he said.
The details of Nemi’s suspension will remain in his permanent work record, Tucker added.
There has been no attempt to calculate how many miles the van was driven or how much gas money would be owed to the city.
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