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By Gina Mace
Special to the Beacon Journal
POSTED: 08:12 p.m. EST, Nov 07, 2009
CUYAHOGA FALLS: With concessions in place for nonunion workers, Falls officials are waiting to see whether the city's unions will agree to similar cuts.
More than 100 nonunion employees will lose a 2.25 percent cost-of-living increase scheduled for next year, be required to take one day off without pay every two months, and lose their sick leave and vacation buy-back program. City Council signed off on the cuts last week.
Law Director Virgil Arrington said if union employees agree to the same concessions, the city will save $1.2 million next year — nearly half of the $3 million it needs to remain in the black in 2011.
Council approved the cuts for the nonunion workers without the guarantee that council's Finance Committee Chairman Don Walters wanted that called for no layoffs.
''It's not just as simple as saying if these four adjustments are accepted there will not be a need for layoffs,'' Arrington said. ''We don't know that. Each department manager is working on finding savings within their own departments.''
Council did add a retirement-incentive provision that would exempt employees eligible to retire from the wage cut and furlough as long as they submit a letter of resignation or retirement by Dec. 15. Those employees would then be required to retire on the first date in 2010 that they are eligible.
Some employees have complained that since pensions are based on an average of the top three years of earnings, the elimination of the raise amounts to lifelong cuts in their pensions.
Arrington said written proposals seeking concessions will be given to the city's unions so more formal talks can begin.
Some of the unions have hired an auditor to look over the city's finances.
Arrington wants to have the unions' decisions on wage and benefit cuts by Dec. 1.
Mayor Don Robart said there is no one person to blame for the city's financial woes.
''I'm not responsible for the economy for the last three and a half years,'' he said. ''Neither is [Finance Director] Joe Brodzinski and neither is anyone at the rail. We've been cutting. Management has taken all the low hanging fruit. The rest is harder to get.''
Robart said the city has to be careful about cutting employees.
''There becomes a fine line as to how many we can cut until, quite frankly, we begin to see services suffer,'' he said. ''As we talk about layoffs, that becomes a fine line.''
Brodzinski has said as many as 53 unionized employees could lose their jobs if the six unions do not approve Robart's proposed concessions.
As many as 17 of the potential layoffs could come from the police and fire departments.
Robart said a police reserve officer already has offered to give back his salary.
''He only makes about $375,'' Robart said. ''It probably means his Christmas or a vacation with his family. I think as we go forward, everybody has to kind of adopt an attitude that we have to put the city first. The city has been good to us. It's time for us to be good to the city.''
The city has about 450 full-time bargaining and nonbargaining employees.
CUYAHOGA FALLS: With concessions in place for nonunion workers, Falls officials are waiting to see whether the city's unions will agree to similar cuts.
More than 100 nonunion employees will lose a 2.25 percent cost-of-living increase scheduled for next year, be required to take one day off without pay every two months, and lose their sick leave and vacation buy-back program. City Council signed off on the cuts last week.
Law Director Virgil Arrington said if union employees agree to the same concessions, the city will save $1.2 million next year — nearly half of the $3 million it needs to remain in the black in 2011.
Council approved the cuts for the nonunion workers without the guarantee that council's Finance Committee Chairman Don Walters wanted that called for no layoffs.
''It's not just as simple as saying if these four adjustments are accepted there will not be a need for layoffs,'' Arrington said. ''We don't know that. Each department manager is working on finding savings within their own departments.''
Council did add a retirement-incentive provision that would exempt employees eligible to retire from the wage cut and furlough as long as they submit a letter of resignation or retirement by Dec. 15. Those employees would then be required to retire on the first date in 2010 that they are eligible.
Some employees have complained that since pensions are based on an average of the top three years of earnings, the elimination of the raise amounts to lifelong cuts in their pensions.
Arrington said written proposals seeking concessions will be given to the city's unions so more formal talks can begin.
Some of the unions have hired an auditor to look over the city's finances.
Arrington wants to have the unions' decisions on wage and benefit cuts by Dec. 1.
Mayor Don Robart said there is no one person to blame for the city's financial woes.
''I'm not responsible for the economy for the last three and a half years,'' he said. ''Neither is [Finance Director] Joe Brodzinski and neither is anyone at the rail. We've been cutting. Management has taken all the low hanging fruit. The rest is harder to get.''
Robart said the city has to be careful about cutting employees.
''There becomes a fine line as to how many we can cut until, quite frankly, we begin to see services suffer,'' he said. ''As we talk about layoffs, that becomes a fine line.''
Brodzinski has said as many as 53 unionized employees could lose their jobs if the six unions do not approve Robart's proposed concessions.
As many as 17 of the potential layoffs could come from the police and fire departments.
Robart said a police reserve officer already has offered to give back his salary.
''He only makes about $375,'' Robart said. ''It probably means his Christmas or a vacation with his family. I think as we go forward, everybody has to kind of adopt an attitude that we have to put the city first. The city has been good to us. It's time for us to be good to the city.''
The city has about 450 full-time bargaining and nonbargaining employees.
Comments
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Posted 09:15 PM, 11/07/2009
The blame falls completely on the shoulders of the Finance Director. He is responsible for forecasting annual revenues. In December 2008 he did not realize that we were in the early stages of the worst economic melt down in 80 years? Seriously? What is the Finance Director doing? He took his eye off the ball? He made a mistake? He did not comprehend the consequences to a financial melt down? Whatever the reason, the Finance Director's mistakes will directly lead to either a cut back in safety services or a forced pay cut to our brave emergency service personnel. If ONE emergency service personnel loses his/her job, he should be removed from office immediately.
C.F., Oh
Posted 10:48 PM, 11/07/2009
So, the bottom has just fallen out of the city's finances. No one knew before this ? Doesn't seem possible. Just wondering...are there any people on the payroll with the city, double-dipping (retired and rehired)? If so, they should be the first to go before the union/safety personnel.
Posted 10:57 PM, 11/07/2009
Mayor Don Robart said there is no one person to blame for the city's financial woes.
''I'm not responsible for the economy for the last three and a half years,'' he said.
No, Robart, you are not responsible for the economy, but you are completely responsible for every stupid financial decision you have inflicted upon the city the last couple of years.
Brodzinski did not make the decision to spend $11 million dollars (IN 2009 NO LESS)on the State rd. shopping Center. ROBART DID.
Brodzinski did not make the decision to spend $25 million dollars on a workout facility. ROBART DID.
And Brodzinski did not come up with the idea of billing current electric customers for past errors. ROBART DID.
And every so-called watchdog on City Council voted for all of those wastes of money.
And Robart hid all of this until after the filing deadline.
Posted 10:59 PM, 11/07/2009
Mayor Don Robart said there is no one person to blame for the city's financial woes.
''I'm not responsible for the economy for the last three and a half years,'' he said. ''Neither is [Finance Director] Joe Brodzinski and neither is anyone at the rail. We've been cutting. Management has taken all the low hanging fruit. The rest is harder to get.''
Pretty strong words from a guy who is making $120,000 dollars a year and gets to drive his own free city car for his personal use!!!!
The unions should tell Robart to take a flying leap.
hazzard, nc
Posted 01:16 AM, 11/08/2009
hold out,anything you give up you wont get back, let them lay off, it wont last long.....
Posted 07:24 AM, 11/08/2009
Any layoff, for any person, for any length of time, would be too long!
akron, oh
Posted 09:42 AM, 11/08/2009
The only thing I can say about the Falls, is they they were able to project their shortfall in advance of the new year, compared to Akron who knew, but said they didn't know.
