When I initially read that the New Smyrna Beach City Commission had appointed several citizens to a budget review task force I was elated. But my elation was short lived after reading the enabling resolution. That's because City Manager Pam Brangaccio's initiative ignores the most expensive part of the budget for this task force: Union contracts.
Despite the feel-good task force, the city manager seems intent on continuing to draw money from the reserves to cover shortfalls as opposed to cutting union contract-driven expenses as propsed in her long-term budget plsan unveiled last fall.
So how can this be called a citizens task force if it has no teeth?
First, it was established as an arm of the city manager and not a direct advisory committee to the City Commission. That prevents access by the members as a group or submission of their "unedited" reports to the Commissioners and thus restricts their ability to educate the very ones that must approve the budget and thus any tax increase.
Second, the city manager has, in the same legislation, ensured that nothing will be contained in the task force recommendation that does not meet her approval, as the task force works for and under the direction of the City Manager. No savings, impacting city employees, of any significance will make it past her desk and thus the commissioners will never see it.
Finally, and the death blow to the resolution, is section 4, which prohibits the task force members from reviewing or commenting on over 80-90% of the proposed fiscal 2010-'11 budget, by eliminating their ability to include in their review any job or position that is covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
And then, to make matters even worse, by attempting to justify this by alleging that it is because these positions may be discussed only under collective bargaining. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as nowhere in Florida's collective bargaining law does it say that a citizens advisory committee cannot review and comment to an elective body on the contents of a collective bargaining contract; citizen's task forces do it all the time.
City Manager Pam Brangaccio demonstrates in this resolution that she is either afraid of the unions or sees any reduction in their benefits as opening the door to reducing personnel costs across the board, including hers. This resolution, by its restrictive nature, further confirms she has no intention of addressing the union contract costs this year.
My felow citizens, next year is too late. The current reductions in property values will further impact the already known shortfalls in the pending budget.
Our neighbors in Port Orange have recognized the union contract and pension fiscal time bomb and faced it head on. While they may have chosen an approach that is more like a meat cleaver than surgical in process, they did stand toe to toe with the firefighter's union in a March Impasse meeting and started the process of removing many of the excessive and costly annual salary benefits that are well within the City's right to cut.
As retired police officer myself, I think I understand the meaning of promised pension benefits and why they should be honored and there are both federal and state laws that do just that.
But as a taxpayer, I also understand there is no bottomless pit of money available to fund these benefits and we must be fiscally responsible when we offer or agree to these benefits in the first place as we must eventually pay for them.
Government leaders and elected officials can no more give away the people's tax dollars to unrealistic pension benefits than can they give away government land to friends. They are and must be held accountable for their actions.
Like the taxing situation, we had more money than sense during the real estate boom and thus these exorbitant pension benefits were created with little thought to the eventual payment. We, as a government, need to return these benefits to fiscal balance to the current economic situation and do so in an equitable and fair fashion, recognizing our commitment to the promises made. There are ways to do this that meet that standard, but that requires a partnership between the city and the union and clearly that was not in place in Port Orange.
Since the union refused to compromise and increase their pension contribution rate by 6%, Port Orange countered by reducing their salaries by 6%. They also removed many of the other salary provisions such as step increases and longevity pay that drive the pension costs in the long run.
While I am sure the unions will appeal, it is my belief they will lose as Port Orange did exactly what Coral Gables did last year and won. They did not reduce promised pension benefits but rather reduced the various imbedded costs that ultimately drive these pension costs. It is my understanding that they are looking at even more drastic reductions for the police contract, including a 10% reduction in salary.
The union pension problem is a well known time bomb that is ticking throughout Florida and is one that must be addressed and addressed comprehensively as well as fairly.
Addressing only the salary side as just happened in Port Orange, while step toward the goal, is not the comprehensive solution.
And speaking of our City Commission, the televised Port Orange impasse meeting of March 4, 2010, should be mandated viewing for all City Commissions. Not only because it deals with the hot issue of the pension fiscal time bomb, but more importantly as it is also a study in leadership by the Mayor, City Commission and City Manager, that should be a wake-up call for commissioners and the city manager here in New Smyrna Beach.
If you don't believe me we are in serious trouble or just want more detail on the pension problem overall. watch the impasse meeting and then go to Volusia Tax Reform's website for even more bad news about our city and its fiscal management.
You can view the impasse meeting at this link :
http://www.port-orange.org/inside/inside25.php
and Volusia Tax Reform is found at this link:
www.http://www.volusiataxreform.com/Facts_by_Area/New_Smyrna_Beach/new_smyr…