Mayor Lang in New Bedford has asked the city's employees to take voluntary pay and benefit cuts in order to avoid what he called "massive" and "devastating" layoffs. The mayor called upon the employees to make "collective sacrifice that is required to keep our employee team intact and provide the critical services that our fellow residents deserve and require." Link to Mayor Lang's letter here
It looks like Dartmouth may avoid these kind of cuts in this fiscal year, FY09, that the mayor must complete. Next year is another matter for Dartmouth. When I ran for Select Board, I said that some collective sacrifice would be required ...
...to right our fiscal ship. I think the taxpayers have contributed with fees and an tax increase override. This year, our town employee union contracts are all up for renewal. In order to avoid wholesale layoffs, some contract concessions are needed from the employees. At minimum, no wage increases can be provided without employee layoffs. Now, as the mayor noted in his letter, it is up to the union membership to decide what happens, wage increases or layoffs.
What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
New Bedford mayor asks for pay, benefit cuts
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37 comments:
Have the SB members looked into closing town hall one day a week (Wednesday) or having every town hall employee take two days off a month? It's better than lay offs.
Some of those "taxpayers" who are paying the fees and override are also town employees. Double the hit, right Bill?
It is what it is. Bill, your doing what you must do, but consider our town school department budget that yoy and the other board members have no control over.
Who will take a hit when it comes to schools. As to comply with state law, the school board shall receive thier 4.5% budget increase. What is wrong with this picture. Each sports coach has one ass't Hmmmmmmm
Absolutely a double hit. I'm not sure what your point is. Would it be better to have the higher tax and fees and lay people off?
Required Net School Spending will only grow by about $215K this year in part due to having 140 fewer students in the schools. A 4-1/24 increase would have been about $1.4 million. So it seems that the school department will have to share in the sacrifices as well.
The School Committee and Superintendent will have to decide were the reduced funding will fall, that is true. But the school department is not getting by unscathed by any stretch.
You can bet the farm that the teacher's union will still be demanding raises.
Maybe Russell should work harder and respond to parents and public. get rid of Bush St, put him in a nook in Quinn. He doesn't need the staff. Rusell spends half his day doing what, chatting with Liz O? Liz O isn't helping the cause for improved education chumming it up with a poor Super that's for sure.
Bill is there a way you can put some of your energy into supporting education and better school funding choices?
I really think Bill is already doing more than his share for the town. Before Bill, none of the information posted here would have been easily available if you could even get it at all. This all takes time along with the various meetings he attends every week. Some of this requires endless research. Do not believe for one moment that this information is just given to the Select Board. Besides, I believe Bill did try to become involved with the schools but the welcome wagon seemed to be on vacation.
I do support education and better schol funding choices. However I do not subscribe to the whole child approach to education. The public is required to provide an education to children on a wide range of subjects that is laid out in the General Laws and DOE frameworks. That has to be our focus. Many disagree with me. I personally would focus like a laser on classroom instruction and a rigorous curriculum. If that required cutting other things that the school does, I would choose that.
I would be interested in what you think I can or should do as a Select Board member to support education and better school funding choices.
Actually Bill there is a large number of people, not a majority, who do feel raising taxes is the lesser of 2 evils. If increasing my taxes $100 to 300 per year saves 10 to 20 or more jobs, it seems I am getting the better part of the deAL.
I'm sorry, I don't want my taxes to go up another $100-$300. I'm already upset with the way the override money has been handled, or should I say, mishandled. We gave some money and those getting it still want more. Disappointing and disillusioning.
What about if your taxes will go up an extra $100-300 every year (they already go up every year due to the automatic 2-1/2% increase). We have provided an additional $4 million to the budget in the past two years alone and we are going to be short again next year. That is what you need to understand. A tax increase will not fix this problem.
Overrides are not the answer. As Lang says, the unions will have to sacrifice just like the rest. I agree that town hall should close one day a week and employees could think about taking a day off without pay once or twice a month. It adds up.
That's going to be a hard sell, Anon 7:37. Someone will find some reason why that can't be done.
Given that c, p and r will take time to implement and have no fixed savings guaranteed, it looks like we will be facing similar cuts next year. How much is unacceptable?
here we go again. Dont raise my taxes but cut the pay of the other guy. to 3:34 get a clue . the schools are only getting 215k this year so since they cant pay the fixed costs increases never mind any sort of raise for anyone the teachers union can demand all they want . When the cubboard is bare noone gets any. I think its because the schools are getting MNSS that parents are sending their children elsewhere.
Anon 334, It costs me $150 to let my son play Basket ball, if I want to watch a game it is $8 for me and my daughter to go, $13 if my husband is able to go. There are cuts every year in the schools, and no one is getting a free ride. We parents have the same median income as the rest of the town we live in.
Anon 6:16, tell that to the "other guy." Some "guys" don't have any pay. They have been laid off. They have no jobs for pay to be cut from. I'm sure most of them would rather still be on their job and be forced to take a pay cut or some other sacrifice than to lose their job altogether. Ask some of them what they would want. Pay cut and job? No pay cut and no job? No brainer.
Tell that to the teachers . they decided they wanted layoffs so the senior members could get their raises instead of keeping everyone with a pay freeze. But the "they should be thankful they have jobs" mentality --someone has to do their jobs, how about you?
Hi Bill. Although Select Board people are not School Committee people, Select Board people can Inquire about the Superintendent's job performance and request to see his evaluation. They can also influence the contract negotiations and request to see their priority goals and outcomes. Like how have they done with textbooks? If the SC kisses you know what to Super, this info needs to get out to public in some other way. I think the Select Board can seek info and get it out to the public. This will foster discussion and improved decision making. The School line items are lumped and need to be tranparent and easily understood. Try figuring out how much is spent on athletics, music, art, languages, science, math etc.
Thanks Bill for trying to beef up the classroms.
If that is the case then shouldnt the SC be able to request the EX admin evaluation and influence negotiations etc... If the SB can involve themselves in the school budget why cant the schools involve themselves in the town budget? "I'm sorry, I don't want my taxes to go up another $100-$300" what will happen bill when evrything is privitized and regionalized and whateverized and we still cant pay for services?. Thats right your taxes will go up. The Sb should spend its time dealing with the mess on slocum road and leave education to the educators.
Evaluate the Superintendent. We couldn't agree more. Does he do a good job with taxpayers money? Key is to get new SC members who aren't in bed with his ideas. Objective new folks. Lenz isn't objective.
If only the educators were really interested in educating and not fatting their wallets.
Lenz isnt objective? please give examples. No he doesnt waste his time on blog's but he sure cares about the kids and their education
Plenty of critics no doubt. It's so easy sitting at a computer screen. Here's an idea, there's still time to get your name in and run for something, select board, school committee, library trustees. Then maybe, just maybe you can accomplish something instead of just typing.
So anonymous 1:19. What position do you hold or are you running for?
No one on the school committee appears to be objective. Haven't heard anything regarding salaries and benefits. How about raises? Last I heard these things were fine when it is apparent to the txpayers that they are not. The public has spoken to the schools but the schools refuse to listen. Please don't tell me the school committee has no say. The school committee condones the practices of the administration by not voicing their objections. This goes for the parents as well. Or do they not have objections which brings us back to the question of objectivity.
9:37, I did.
After talking to a sc member the other day about this topic Phil Lenz said" we cant discuss wages and benefits because we are entering a negotiation year and If I did speak on that subject a bad faith bargaining charge would soon follow." He cant speak about it legally. Its not they refuse to listen they have to keep quiet. And as for the public speaking to the schools those SC meeting sure are empty . People must not be saying much or their saying it here instead.
Anon 3:57, I am a town meeting member and sit on one of the volunteer commissions in town. I do my part and don't sit at my type writer bitching and moaning about how other volunteers act when they are working for the benefit of the town be they school committee members, library trustees, planning board members or others. You don't like something DO something about.
That's the problem. Some of these committee members are not working for the benefit of the town but for town employees or special interests. The reason school committee meetings are empty is because parents have had it. Just like the general public they have spoken and their message has fallen on deaf ears.
I see Micheal, so instead of particpating and volunteering (the volunteers are the problem you say) I should step aside and complain. That'll solve a lot. Let's see, on the one hand this blog is full of people that say we need to have volunteers do everything and save money yet the ones that actually do the volunteering are the ones that are the problem. Funny how that line of volunteers seems to be getting smaller by the day.
Michael, that's the unfortunate part. At some point, you give up. It just seems like you are talking to a wall, and it's especially discouraging to hear the administrators and officials keep telling us they will "look into it," etc. We've heard that a lot.
The only thing wrong with giving up and keeping silent is that it gives the impression that we are not determined enough to push our case. At least, making ourselves visible and continually speaking up reminds the powers that be that we are still around and we still care.
And sometimes people hope we will finally give up. Then they will have won.
Give up what? Complaining? DO SOMETHING.
I'm not advocating giving up. But sometimes it feels useless to continue pushing an issue when nothing gets resolved. The point is to NOT give up. If we want change, we've got to be vocal about it and force change.
And I don't mean pushing one issue over another. I mean looking into what will work for the whole town, in the long run.
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