For those political junkies or policy wonks among us, the House Ways and Means budget and all the amendments that have been offered are on line. Judy Meredith at Blue Mass Group has the link to the budget from this link She also has some good insight into the process that will occur. The House and Senate leadership have stated that local aid and school aid are likely to be cut by 4%. More may be needed, we will see.
I posted the Massachusetts Budget and Policy analysis of the House Ways and Means Budget here.
It is going to be an ugly year for the state budget which ...
... makes for an ugly year in municipal budgets too.
Dartmouth has set aside significant amounts in the Stabilization Fund to help alleviate the pain but even so it will be a lean budget year.
Monday, April 19, 2010
WooHoo! House Budget and amendments on line
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43 comments:
Lean budget, schlean budget. Ellen wants her arts administrator for the schools!!! Who cares if the town clerk has to work an extra hour or two once in awhile? Who cares if the Bullard Center goes unfinished for another year? Who cares if Kevin Lee needs an extra clerk in order to run Girl Power and Banana Splits? Who cares if the Planning Department is short handed? Who cares if there is a fee to use the transfer station? Who cares if six people broke the axles on their cars this month due to potholes? Who cares if the cops have to hitchhike back to the station at the end of their shift because the cruiser broke down and the radio doesn't work to let dispatch know. Who cares if the schools already got every penny of the meals tax revenue by way of their funding formula and full day kindergarten? Give Ellen her Art Administrator, you cheapskates!
If you think that 2011 is going to be a lean budget year just wait until 2012 when we can't afford FDK and the salaries for all the new hirees. I think Lynn Mederios should get more help before any art adminstator should even be considered. It is amazing that all of a sudden everyone is coming out of the woodwork looking for money. If Lynn isn't getting any overtime then if I was in her position I would not put in a minute extra.
And about the potholes on our streets it is a disgrace. The intersection on Dartmouth and Rogers St. has some real deep ones. How about putting some of the reserve money into our streets.
I think some people, including Ms. Medeiros who wants renovations done to her office, among her other requests for $$$ presented at the last Select Board meeting, should get their/her priorities straight.
If she can't put in a minute extra, maybe there is someone who will be willing to step into her job and put in that minute?
Bill
In my opinion, Dartmouth people have little understanding, as to how fortunate we are to have a healthy surplus revenue account. The town should give thanks to people like yourself and the other select board members, along with to the fincom. After many years of department budgetary cutting and the lack of school department cooperation with the fincom, Dartmouth has a good financial outlook.
The school department, school board elected members, are no longer in the sacred cow mantality that flows with many school employee's. Thanks to the school committee for becoming part of the towns financial concerns, and not the problem. School related fee's, approved by the school board members, and financial openness with the SB/fincom have brought us to were we are.
My tax payer advise is to keep all town union/non-union contracts at no increases for three years. A three percent increase for teachers union contracts will add over 1,000,000 million dollars to our future budget, and a three year contract ,will become a three million dollar increase. We just can not afford to increase salaries. The last item the schools need is some high paying arts coordinator. Get real!!
Hey, 3:13, I'm happy to be a cheapskate!
Hey Bill
I'm hoping you decide to run for another term on the select board. In my opinion, you've become the most honest selectman in memory, but this honesty will not provide you with a re-election. You certainly have an analytical mind, along with a solid understanding of many town related issues. Your easy way of expressing thoughtful issues has provided a karma of understanding. When discussing important town issues, You provide facts that have been prove or provided reference to where answers can be located. Your handling of criticism is a credit to your demeanor. In comparison to your fellow board members, you speak when needed and avoid the gifted celebrity status of some of your board members, who have further political ambitions. Now that you are chairman, maybe you can tone down some of Watson's continuous rhetoric.
If you feel that the above mentioned is your ticket for re-election, think again. You have less then one year to look at the past years voting results and begin to use your analytical mind to figure out how Bob Miller came so close to removing Joe Michaud. You must win precincts 9, and 10, and a good showing through out the North end of town. When the time is right, you may erect a sign on my properties and I'll provide you with a 100 dollar donation.
We may not always agree but we need not be disrespectful.
to 6:33
Just to correct the math, a million dollar increase in each year is a TOTAL COST OF 6 MILLION MORE than we are paying right now, over the life of a 3 year contract.
First of all, Your math is way off. Secondly the town can offer 0% raises for 3 yrs and the union can reject that and OPT for binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration just awarded the Boston Fire Department a 4 yr contract with a raise of 19%.
The simple and smart thing to do is offer the town employees SOMETHING and hope they accept it. If not binding arbitration will come along and could be bad for the town.
Sure the employees could lose in arbitration but considering they are among the lower paid in the commonwealth with a 50/50 split on healthcare they could WIN big in arbitration costing MILLIONS.
Re: budget costs and savings
I have enclosed the link to a recent announcement that the Teachers Union in Barrington has agreed to forego raises. Frankly, for a real good reason. Saving jobs!
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/east_bay/wpri-barrington-teachers-forgo-pay-raises-to-save-jobs
to 10:32
Math is way off? Relax, help is on the way here. See if you can follow me. Year 1, $1 million dollars in raises. Year 2, one more million dollars on top of the previous 1 million dollars. One plus two = 3. So far are you with me? Year 3, one more million on top of that makes 3 million more than the base year. Follow me? Three plus three equals six. As in 6 million dollars more in payments. Whatever the unions are asking for, use this formula and you will find the answer to the calculation that must be funded by the taxpayers. So concludes your math lesson for the day.
Bill
Casino's are the talk of the state, why not include North Dartmouth as a potential casino location. Dartmouth is the fourth largest area Town in the commonwealth. We must have enough town owned land to encourage a casino. There must be some financial compensation for having a casino operation in Dartmouth. I-195 runs East/West between Rhode Island and the Cape. What say you??
I support unions, but unions are about compromise. The schools are always saying that they are part of the town and people should not separate the two. Except when the town employees are not getting a raise this year or a new computer and the teachers continue to get raises, town employees get upset. The schools want to be considered part of the town except when there are sacrifices to be made. If the teachers go without a raise this year, it will not hurt the children.
10:32: the key here is HOPE the town employees will accept something that is offered.
Do you put much faith in that?
Certainly it would be a sign of something less than greed if they did: the teachers were willing to throw their lesser colleagues under the bus a few years ago during the override attempt rather than take less than what was "due" them.
What a turnabout if the town had more class.
It's all about the $$$, folks, and our town and school employees are no different.
to 10:32
I think you need to get your facts straight. Here is the link to the story for those interested in knowing the truth:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/morning/will-boston-city-council-approve-boston-firefighters-contract-04232010
No one has agreed to pay the "binding arbitration". In fact, the Fire Department has been without a contract for nearly 2 years. The big issue was not increases; it was about the requirement of random drug testing that came about after 2 crackhead firefighters tragically died.
This in response to Anon's April 20,7:26 and 6:31 concerning the Town Clerks requests :
The position of Town Clerk is an elected position. As such she is not an employee, there are no set hours, no overtime, nor are there any sick days, vacation time or other accrued benefits to be bought out upon leaving. The salary for this position is not negotiable nor is it tied in with any benefits negotiated on behalf of any employees beyond the cost of healthcare. She works the long hours she does obviously because she is dedicated to the people of Dartmouth and views her obligations seriously, with little regard for her own comfort or inconvenience. I wish we had more elected people like her in town, and none that would not " put in a minute extra" if not getting overtime; That is not why anyone would run for public office.
Her pay is determined solely by the whim of Town Meeting and can be lowered just as fast and easily as it can be raised. The level of pay will remain constant forever unless asked for it to change. It was last increased to $62,834 at the Oct 5th, 2005 Town Meeting ; This was during the tenure of Ellie White as Town Clerk.
With health care costs eating steadily away at a pay that has stagnated for nearly 5 years, in my opinion this person is being taken advantage of and in this singular case a correction needs to be made.
Time is money: The changes requested to her office layout would increase efficiency by eliminating the need to leave the counter area and travel to a back room to retrieve routine documents. This leaves the counter unattended and consumes time. By rearranging the office, more work can be accomplished using fewer man hours, saving the town's people money and benefit costs over time.
Additionally the Fin Com just approved $3,149.25 to purchase software needed to speed up certain cash transactions in the Clerk's office, also designed to save time. These same programs, along with the expenditure of up to another $7,000 for additional software, will tie various departments together saving valuable time in not only the Clerk's office but in other offices as well. This will also save citizens from waiting in lines, often several times, in various departments in order to get their business done.
The bottom line is that anything we can do to save man hours is money well spent and will reduce the rate at which our budgets inflate. This is how we will continue to 'live within our means' .
Additionally you will see an article on this springs warrant that would spend $75,508 of Community Preservation Funds, not general funds, for the preservation of town documents currently located in the Town Clerk's Office dated between 1770 and 1974. These will be preserved, copied onto CD and eventually be available on the Town's Web Site.
Greg Lynam
Fin Com
In my view.....as it relates to student safety, anyone who is not employed at the Dartmouth high school, shall will not be allowed to enter or walk the corridors with out an escorted. Allow me to fine tune this next sentence.....no one will be allowed to walk the Dartmouth high school corridors at any time, for any purpose. The person who knows the truth is the Dartmouth high school resource Officer.
I have walked the corridors at the Dartmouth high school, and in my view, I was able to see students smoking in the boy's/girl's bath rooms. Even the most nicotine addicted school teacher will have a smoke inside there private teacher bath room.
Once the students enter the class room, the teacher will gradually take control and begin instructions. The bell to end the class, signals the students to leave to the next class room. During this time you don't want to be a teacher walking the corridors. The mob of students are like the running of the bulls, just get out of their way or else. The traumatised teacher's are just completing their anxiety attack symptoms, when the heard of students arrive and decide to sit in place.
I think you need to get your facts straight. Here is the link to the story for those interested in knowing the truth:
Apparently you have no idea exactly what BINDING arbitration is. Binding arbitration MUST be submitted to the city council and the city council knows they Must approve it.
EMS services in Boston got a 14% raise for the last 4 yrs, Much better than our police department has received. OUR boys in blue deserve a big raise not0's.
to 10:04
I seem to kow far more about "binding arbitration" than you do. Did you know that any municipality, state or even the Federal government has the legal right to not pay for something? No matter what it is? Look it up, it has been part of US law since about 1775.
I see the Doris Copley story finally came out. Suing the town? No surprise there is it? Lifetime contracts surfacing again? No surprise there is it? The lawyer representing her? No surprise there is it? Just another example of if you voted for Miller, you want to line your pockets with as much taxpayer's money as possible.
I'm going to get totally blasted for this, but here goes:
Town AND School employees should get a clue! In the real world, a position pays a certain amount. One may try to negotiate a higher salary, but it may not be granted. If not, one may choose to stay on at that salary, or move on to greener pastures.
If the police, teachers, and others, are that unhappy with their lot in life...move on! There are numerous folks out of work who would love to take those jobs!
I seem to kow far more about "binding arbitration" than you do.
They call it BINDING arbitration for a reason. It is in the unions contract to get past impasses and keep the employees working.
Binding means once the arbitrator makes his decision the town must fund it one way or the other.
Trying to push 0% raises down the throats of the unions will not fly. The town makes sure they get their 2.5% increase every year regardless of the economy and so should employees.
I guess we are going to find out one way or the other IF these contracts were illegal.
The Courts will decide if what Miller and 4 other Selectmen did ( yes there were 5 of the) was illegal or just unpopular.
I think the Court will find it was NOT illegal and finally stop the Miller bashing around here.
If you don't like Bob then don't vote for him. Better yet stand up and be counted and run yourself. There are no lower people in society than those who throw stones from an anonymous location.
Run against him or vote against him but if you aren't running don't bash him and those who support him.
In February of 2008, the JLMC (Joint Management Labor Committee) comprised of three members: one for Labor (Union); one for Management (City of Boston); and the third a retired Judge (Neutral), voted 2-1 against labor to take jurisdiction of the case and ultimately move forward with arbitration. The Union’s request to continue negotiations had been denied.
The arbiter was selected by a process which permitted both Labor and Management equal control. The system calls for the arbiter to hear testimony from both sides and make an unbiased decision, of what in his/her best judgment represents a fair deal for both parties. This final decision is binding on both the Union and the City of Boston.
Sounds like you aren't so smart.
it has been part of US law since about 1775.
Not sure you are a trustworthy source of information. There was No US in 1775.
Why was the paralegal allowed to write her own contract and insert this language? Maybe some others I can see but the paralegal? WTF? Can you tell me why this person?
In the real world, a position pays a certain amount. One may try to negotiate a higher salary, but it may not be granted. If not, one may choose to stay on at that salary, or move on to greener pastures.
I'm not going to blast anyone, you are entitled to your opinion. Negotiations are how school and town employees have gotten every raise/cost of living increase they have received.
Negotiations are not Mr. Cressman saying NO over and over again on every matter the unions bring up. If Cressman continues NEGOTIATIONS will stall and we all saw how the Boston FD made out.
This town continues to "find" money for new positions, FDK, and a host of other "want to haves". It is disingenuous to then turn around and tell the employees that there is no money for their cost of living increase. YES cost of living increase not a raise.
Any municipality has the right to decline accepting binding arbitration for several totally legal reasons. For example, the Boston City Council will likely decide this week if they will accept the deal put on the table by the arbitrator. Already the firefighter’s union wheels are spinning because they know that the City Council will not accept this outrageous proposal. The point is, reality is setting in regarding union contracts with municipalities in these tough economic times. It will be interesting to see how long workers here in Dartmouth work without a new contract knowing that they cannot get what they want now that their advocate, Bob Miller, lost.
Separation of cost of living and regular raises is nothing more than union nonsense. Pay increases are pay increases. Wake up and smell the coffee. The town has done a good job of controlling costs while maintaining services. No raise for 2 or 3 years is reasonable in return for no job cuts in this economic climate.
Is there anyone in the private sector that is not getting either a COLA or a raise?
Honestly, there are people out there that would just like a JOB!!!
Effective March 20, 1988, Chapter 589 of the Acts of 1987 went into effect. This law gives the Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC) the power to resolve collective bargaining impasses through interest arbitration awards, which are final and binding on the public employer if they are supported by substantial evidence and are funded by the legislative body. The statute sets forth certain guidelines for determining interest arbitration awards.
Somehow I do not expect town meeting to vote against an arbitrators award. Binding arbitration is called binding ummmm because it is binding.
The law states that any municipality has the right to disregard any binding arbitration because the municipality simply cannot afford to pay it without seriously affecting key services and other financial obligations. That law is ummmm binding.
Meant to say is there anyone in the private sector that is getting either a raise or COLA? I imagine they could be tough to come by in the private sector, as well, with the economy.
With people wanting more and needing money, obviously,there still are people out there that would just like a job.
SPECIAL MESSAGE
The US, for example, has gone from 20% GDP in manufacturing before the election of Reagan to just 11% now. Countries that don't make things don't create real wealth, and thus must turn to Goldman Sachs to help them borrow money. And Goldman hasn't treated Greece - or the US - all that well. The reason why China is not having this problem - and neither are South Korea or Taiwan or Singapore, all countries with strong social safety nets - is because they're strongly protecting their own manufacturing sectors. The way we used to do before Reagan's presidency and then Bill Clinton's throwing us to the tender mercies of transnational corporations by turning US trade policy over to NAFTA and the WTO. Time to reconsider protectionism.
to: Binding arbitration challenged
Please find link to the latest update on the Boston Firefighters "binding arbitration" status:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100505hub_jakes_tap_labor_union_in_contract_vote/srvc=home&position=1
In summary, you are again completely wrong. Not a surprise is it? Let's see what really happens.
"This law gives the Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC) the power to resolve collective bargaining impasses through interest arbitration awards, which are final and binding on the public employer if they are supported by substantial evidence and are funded by the legislative body."
The power to award through arbitration requires "substantial eveidence..." What evidence is there? Because they WANT more money, they should get it? This is insane!
In summary, you are again completely wrong. Not a surprise is it? Let's see what really happens.
What did he say that was wrong. He included binding arbitration law directly from MGL's including Legislative approval.
I think you are a bitter person who doesn't like anyone more informed than you and makes more money. Crawl back under your rock please.
Now that you have not posted in the last 2 weeks does this mean that you are no longer going to post on this blog? It was fun while it lasted.
Talking about money, where did the money come from to promote all the sergeants and a deputy chief? If this is money generated through the police budget override, I don't have a problem with spending the money for the police. The town voted to authorise 524,000 thousand dollar override increase for the town police department budget. This is not a one time expense. The town is obligated to increase our tax base yearly by 524,000 thousand dollars. As a voting tax payer I will never expect this money to be used for any other purpose but police funding.
Can anyone explain how Mike Watson is going to get 35,000 thousand dollars to off Set the completion of the community center building??
To Anon May 10 8:17 AM
The money to pay for the Police promotions came from a reorganization of the Police hierarchy. No 'new' money was needed to fund these positions.
Money generated through the override was designed to add and support 7 new officers. This was done or is in the late stages of being completed.
It is impossible to follow 'a' dollar through the budget for more than one year. Technically an override for a specific purpose is only valid the first year. In subsequent years the additional funds raised are general fund monies and can be used for any municipal purpose needed. That said, the intent was to maintain the force strength of our police department and that is being done without equivocation. To my knowledge there is nothing that has been requested in support of our Police force that has been denied for lack of available funding.
The $35,000 request to fund the completion of the Bullard Wellness Center was funded from the reserve fund at last weeks Fin Com meeting ; over my objection I hasten to add. My problem was one of procedure, not the value of the project. This request failed to meet the standard of being unexpected or an emergency therefore in my estimation this was clearly a CIP issue that should have been first vetted by the CIP committee and, if judged worthy, included on the CIP warrant article in next month's Town Meeting.
This was of concern to me because it was the failure to follow proper procedures in years past that contributed to the problems we find ourselves still digging out from under. I sure would hate to go back to 'The Good Old Days " .
Greg Lynam
Fin Com
I think you are a bitter person who doesn't like anyone more informed than you and makes more money. Crawl back under your rock please.
I am so sorry I hurt your feelings by proving you to be wrong again. Listen to me and learn. You will elevate your mediocre understanding of unions, law, and life.
To 8:17 a.m. I guess the $35,000 will come from the same place that the $60,000 for the split to 52% & 48% for the health insurance and the thousands of dollars for the community park and FDK. All of a sudden it seems that there is more then enough money. To think 2 years ago we were down to the "bare bones". All of a sudden there is money everywhere. Can't wait to see where the town will be in 2 years from now.
I am so happy about the community center building. It is something the ENTIRE community will be able to use. Thank you Maria Connor for your help and advocacy for our Town
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