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11/26/2008
Public employee wages - frozen
I nearly fell off my chair when I read it – and actually reacted similarly the second, third and fourth readings! The City of Green Bay passed a 2009 budget with wages for city employees frozen at current levels. Not unprecedented, but surely pretty rare stuff.
Now, contracts must still be negotiated, but the budget is balanced based on an across the board pay freeze, including the mayor, alderpersons and all union and non-union employees. Health insurance rates are fortunately, not increasing. And all parties involved (taxpayers included) are obligated to keep a very close eye on the cost of work conditions and any other “non-cost” item (no such thing) that might be negotiated (like extra vacation or leave days). Please, please don’t add costs that future generations will find it hard to pay for or changes that will reduce the productivity of every paid man-hour.
Alderperson Tom De Wane, a long time union member in his day job, felt it was just as much his duty as anyone else’s to “get things going,” to talk informally with a few of the city’s union employees when he learned of the dire spending straits the city was in. De Wane didn’t want anyone to be fired – “my whole thing was not losing any jobs.” Without the freeze, Mayor Jim Schmitt was looking at the possibility of a $4.8M deficit in 2009. In addition to the freeze, a fire department ‘reorganization’ eliminated 15 positions through attrition.
There’s no doubt about it. City budgets, school district budgets, county budgets. They’re getting tougher and tougher to balance. The Green Bay wage freeze harkened me back to August, 2007, when the hours of 76 City of Eau Claire employees were cut from 40 to 32 because the city just did not have enough dollars to cover the health insurance policy offered by the city but rejected by the union. Reduced-hour work weeks were in effect until the contract was ultimately settled mid-December, 2007.
The discussion in Green Bay stemmed from a realization on all sides that the money just wasn’t there – and it was a matter of layoffs or the wage freeze. Alderperson Andy Nicholson suggested that De Wane’s approach was kind of like, “you know guys, you’ve got it pretty nice – perhaps you’re better off looking at a helping out with a salary freeze.”
When I asked De Wane if other municipalities should be considering this same approach, in a split second, he said “Of course.”
Hear, hear.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
Now if only teachers realized the truth that wages can't keep endlessly escalating--or perhaps Green Bay is lucky, and their teachers are sensible?
emily matthews (Wed Nov 26 10:05:58 2008)
This is interesting. I was sure that the phrase "belt tightening" had somehow left the common vocabulary altogether-- that times of extreme uncertainty were always and forever elsewhere but here.
There are three elements of sustainable practices in local government and elsewhere:
Competitive bidding.
Least cost planning.
Full cost accounting.
The principles are well-known in planning circles but are best expressed to the public by David Morris. Morris can be found at www.ilsr.org.
The public discussion should begin on how these principles can be applied here. If that is done, no austerity of extreme measures would be required, the salary levels would be adequate if not progressive based on expectations only and the necessities of government would be provided.
While these principles make common sense, they have not been used systematically. Where common sense is applied, belt tightening and austerity become unnecessary.
Lon Ponschock (Wed Nov 26 12:03:38 2008)
Keeping a job is the preferable tack to take, Ya think!! I am a little skeptical since Mr. Dewane was very eager to put spending to a public referendum for the Unions he represents and he does represent them.
Lon is right on in his assessment but that's the furthest from the officials who regularly award contracts without bidding, rarely look for redundencies or job sharing(see lost Union jobs)Do the Planning circles consider privatization of services which carry lower skillsets, not to diminish the poor trash collector. But there are some sectors of the government workforce that would be slashed right now if it were run with efficiency in mind. That coupled with the early retirements offered sometimes, come on, 54 yrs old??
Like I said, I am very skeptical but glad to see that door open for a change, and I thank them, the employees for not being stubborn about it. It demonstrates a bit of gratitude rarely given to the folks who pay their salaries and benefits, in good times and in bad.
Richard Parins (Wed Nov 26 16:22:19 2008)
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