Politics & Government
Bishop's Camp Refutes NY Post Report
Post reports that congressman is "most generous" with staff bonuses.
The New York Post reported Monday that U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-Southampton, dolled out to his congressional staffers the the second highest amount in year-end bonuses out of the entire Long Island and New York City delegation — but a spokesman for Bishop said the Post's number was incorrectly calculated.
The Post reported that Bishop bumped his office's payroll by $73,000 from the third quarter of 2012 to the fourth, with bonuses ranging fron $1,000 to more than $12,000.
Responding Tuesday to the article, Bishop communication director Oliver Longwell said that the $12,000 reported as a bonus was actually largely the result of a staff member who briefly left the office coming back to work for the congressman.
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"Congressman Bishop has one of the lowest overall payroll expenses in the New York City/Long Island Congressional Delegation," Longwell said. "He uses a performance-based compensation system where staff members receive pay adjustments at the end of the year if they meet performance goals. Congressman Bishop, in total, has a payroll smaller than almost any member in NYC/LI, and the office has successfully closed over 15,000 constituent cases since Congressman Bishop was elected."
Read the Post's report at nypost.com.