budgetcuts

so that means Morima is a FAG???

Absolutely!

RAMROD BELIEVES THAT A SUDDEN SENSE OF URGENCY WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW. BEWARE OF MIS-INFORMATION AND THINK YOUR FUTURE THROUGH ALL THE WAY. THE CITY OF BALTIMORE FIRE AND POLICE UNIONS HAVE SUED THEIR CITY FOR UNDERFUNDING THEIR PENSIONS. THOSE OFFICERS BELIEVE THAT THE CITY,WHEN TIMES WERE GOOD, DID NOT SET ASIDE MONIES TO COVER THE BAD TIMES WE ARE IN. CITY GOVERNMENT WANTS U TO WORK LONGER, HOPEFULLY DIE AT A RELATIVELY YOUNGER AGE,AND THEN PAY OUT LESS TO YOUR SPOUSE OR OTHER BENEFICIARY. THESE ARE LONG TERM THOUGHTS THAT ARE DRIVING THESE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS. HAVE WE HEARD ANY MISMANAGEMENT BY CITY HALL WITH MANAGING MONIES WHEN THIS TOWN WAS AWASH WITH CASH-ANSWER IS NO! CHECK THIS INFORMATION ON ANY SEARCH ENGINE TO CHECK THE VERACITY OF RAMROD'S POST BEFORE U REPLY. THANK U.RAMROD
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Report this postReply with quoteRe: CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
by Guest on 06/08/10 19:51:30

the city did not fund the pension for several years presumably because due to the flourishing economy it was solvent. Even though they knew then and know now that they should have funded the pension. So now the city wants their irresponsibility to be paid for with the sweat off of the Police Officer's backs.

What does this mean for us? Is our salary safe? What about jobs? What a mess!!

Separating Fact from Fiction

FROM YOUR CITY GOVERNMENT


Tough times. Difficult choices. Significant needs. A challenge no doubt. But it is a challenge the City of Coral Gables can meet if financial common sense and responsibility prevail. Make no mistake, Coral Gables, like virtually every city in the United States, is coping with financial problems caused by the dramatic downturn in the economy, among other factors. This year is probably the most challenging for cities in a generation. The unpredictable and ever-changing economy has taken a toll on residents and, in turn, Coral Gables has suffered with revenues plummeting. Several steps were taken to cut costs this year. The City laid off employees, implemented a hiring freeze, and instituted a freeze on discretionary spending and capital purchases, but more was needed. Until recently, Coral Gables had approximately $9 million in reserves to handle emergency situations such as hurricanes and other unexpected events that can burden the City financially. In order to make it through this fiscal year, the City has had to utilize nearly all its reserves to balance the current budget, all but eliminating the general operating fund safety net.

The proposed budget mirrors the belt-tightening that citizens are making in their daily lives and they should expect the same from their government. There are many factors affecting next fiscal year’s budget (October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010) and as such, a multi--pronged approach is being utilized to steer the City through these extremely challenging times. The solution must be balanced to preserve the high standards, quality of life and beauty that make Coral Gables a special place and helps support our property values. The City Commission and staff have not lost sight of their role as stewards of the public interest. In doing so, we will ensure that all options remain on the table as we pilot city government through these uncertain times.

Recently some community publications and groups have made statements that are simply not true. Misinformation is never valuable to residents, the Commission or the future of this City. Here at Straight Talk, we feel it is important to address misinformation and provide residents with the facts.

Fiction: The City is proposing a 27% property tax hike.

FACT: The current millage rate is 5.250 per $1,000 of taxable value and the preliminary rate is 6.243, a 1 mill increase. This does not mean the City Commission will adopt that millage rate in September at the Budget Hearings, but it does establish the maximum rate which can only be reduced. Because of an overall decline in property values, the millage rate necessary to generate the same amount of property tax revenue as the current fiscal year is 5.537. The difference between 5.537 and the preliminary rate of 6.243 is .70 mills, a 13% increase. It is the City’s goal to hold any millage rate increase to a minimum. Most cities in the County including Miami and Miami Beach have increased their preliminary millage rate for next year. Out of the total amount of property taxes you pay to the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Office, 38% is directed to the Miami-Dade County Public School System, 32% is directed to Miami-Dade County, 27% goes to the City of Coral Gables and the balance is sent to the state.

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Fiction: 40 low-salaried or part-time employees are being cut.

FACT: A total of 64 positions are being cut. It should be noted that 20% of the full-time positions proposed for elimination come from management, professional and technical employees, yet this group makes up only 15% of the total workforce. Among the high-ranking positions proposed to be eliminated are an Assistant Chief of Police and an Assistant Public Works Director, both second in command in their respective departments.

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Fiction: City expenses are out of control.

FACT: The City’s proposed budget slashes expenditures by approximately $9 million. The budget calls for a 5% cut in salaries for all employees and a significant reduction in benefits, an unprecedented move in the City’s history. We are unaware of another community in South Florida cutting salaries more. It is worth noting that employees in management positions have not received a cost of living adjustment since 2007. Despite the significant reductions in expenses and necessary fee increases, the City may have to lay off more employees, including police officers. Currently, 55 cents out of every dollar spent from the City’s general operating fund goes toward public safety (Police and Fire Departments). The proposed budget calls for a total of 828 employees, that’s fewer employees than the City had a decade ago.

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Fiction: It is much more financially sensible to tier salary reductions: Cut salaries by 5% for employees making more than $35,000; 10% for those making more than $80,000 but less than $130,000; and 15% for employees making more than $130,000.

FACT: A tiered salary approach would create inequities in the City’s pay plan. This suggestion reduces the differential between higher-ranking and longer-term employees and those they supervise. Increasing the percentage of reduction for higher paid employees wrecks havoc with a sensible pay plan designed to reward experience, expertise and responsibility. For example, under the aforementioned tiered concept, a supervisor making $80,000 would now be paid $72,000 and a subordinate with a salary of $78,000 would make $74,100; that’s more than the supervisor they work under. Likewise, under this problematic approach, employees with seniority could be paid less than those with fewer years of service to the City. This is one of the reasons no other city in Florida, that we are aware of, is pursuing tiered salary reductions. Approximately 85% of City employees are represented by unions with collective bargaining agreements in which case the City does not have the ability to simply make unilateral changes in salaries.

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Fiction: The City is cutting part-time employees. This measure is not economical because these employees do not receive benefits.

FACT: The City is reducing the number of employees in a prudent manner. For example, as part of the proposed budget, the City is cutting six full-time sanitation workers with benefits and adding one part-time sanitation worker without benefits. Remaining employees will work harder and smarter to get the job done.

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Fiction: The proposed fire fee will cost homeowners $96 a week.

FACT: The fire assessment fee is proposed as a flat $50 annual fee per residence. The fee would be dedicated to fire protection services. The City is working on developing a hardship exemption for seniors with limited incomes.

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Almost every municipality in the country is struggling with the same issues affecting Coral Gables. This City must strike a balance of continuing to provide vital services to the community while keeping costs down. Unlike businesses that cut costs by providing self-service features, Coral Gables should not become a self-service city. Among the vital services the City provides are Police and Fire protection. All City departments have slashed their budgets and many dedicated employees will be laid off. The proposed budget goes right to the root of the problem and provides solutions. The decisions are difficult but they must be made to ensure that Coral Gables emerges from this national economic crisis with a foundation for a better future.

In a nutshell, the City is faced with the predicament of significantly diminishing revenues, rising expenses and a fiduciary responsibility that this City must not back down from: meeting the needs of citizens, all the citizens of Coral Gables — no matter where you live, no matter what your income is, and no matter the particular circumstances of your lives.

The City is committed to making the community proud of how our continued dedication to the heritage and tradition of Coral Gables adds value to our citizens; to being an organization that residents can trust and believe in and one that you can admire for the good we do and the future direction towards which we steer.


BULL SHIT!!


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South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

South Florida cities begin slashing pension costs

By Jennifer Gollan

6:26 PM EDT, June 24, 2010



Once they were considered a sacred perk for public sector employees.

But pensions have morphed into an albatross for many municipalities, compounded by shrinking tax revenues, investment losses and longer life spans. Now cities such as Fort Lauderdale and Delray Beach are reining in costs for future retirees, with others ready to follow suit.

"Pensions are the hardest to go after because of the bargaining with the unions, but we have to take them on," said Hallandale Beach Interim City Manager Mark Antonio. "Taxpayers who are unemployed are not getting these pensions, and they are questioning why police and others are getting guaranteed pensions."

Recent money-saving measures range from Sunrise raising the retirement age from 58 to 62 for new general employees to Hollywood requiring greater pension contributions (9 percent, up from 7) from their general employees. Other cities, including Pembroke Pines, Fort Lauderdale and possibly Hallandale Beach, are shifting new hires to 401(k)-type plans, which are subject to fluctuations in the market.

An informal survey shows that while retirement plans can vary widely, pensions account for roughly 10 percent or more of municipal budgets. Benefits typically include health care payments plus a guaranteed income, based on salary, age, service and other factors. When investments fall short, the difference is borne by taxpayers.

Municipalities with the largest payrolls are beset with heavy pension shortfalls. They include Fort Lauderdale ($306.8 million shortfall), Hollywood ($353.3 million) and Pembroke Pines ($201.4 million) in Broward County and Delray Beach ($51 million) and West Palm Beach ($90 million) in Palm Beach County.

Retirement contributions for Fort Lauderdale firefighters and police, for example, will rise from 8 to 8.25 percent of their base pay in October 2011. New hires already contribute 8.5 percent.

In Pembroke Pines, general employees hired after July 1 will shift to a 401(k)-type plan, in which employees contribute a percentage of their salary, a portion of which is usually matched by their employer. Pensions will remain intact for current workers, although the city will contribute less each year. New officers and firefighters hired after May 1 won't receive longevity pay, while current employees will have their longevity pay frozen at the current rate.

Union officials say switching to 401(k)-type plans could prove disastrous. Employees will flock to other places with pension benefits, said Scott McGuire, local president of the Police Benevolent Association, which represents the approximately 125 officers and sergeants in Delray Beach.

Also, a wholesale switch to 401(k)-type plans could diminish pensions for current employees, who often depend on contributions from new hires to help fund their retirement benefits, he said. If these funds fall short, taxpayers could be forced to cover the difference.

Over the past decade, many South Florida municipalities used extra cash from the housing boom to boost employee pensions. They pumped up payouts, lowered the age to qualify or granted annual cost of living increases, a 2008 Sun Sentinel investigation found.

"Local governments, as they grew, the pay wasn't great so they gave great benefits. It was OK then, but now we can't afford it anymore," said Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis. "We have to take a new direction otherwise cities will be broke."

Cities are legally prohibited from revoking contracted pension benefits for current employees without consent from the unions. With the weak economy imperiling the overall health of pension funds, however, union leaders are more willing to control costs.

"A lot of the cities are not funding the plans appropriately," said Scott Dayne, president of the Fort Lauderdale Professional Firefighters union, which represents about 375 firefighters. "We don't want to lose our pensions altogether. Because of the economy and the payroll, we realize something has to be done.''

Fort Lauderdale's tax base this year slipped more than 10 percent, blowing a $17.3 million hole in next year's budget. Investment returns for the firefighters and officers' pension plan plummeted 22 percent in 2008, according to the city's most recent actuarial report.

Not all local governments will be forced to prune pensions this year. Those whose benefits are administered by the Florida Retirement System will not see any changes. The system covers more than 650,000 current state, school district and municipal workers.

Some cities, such as Boca Raton, are still weighing their options.

Still, a growing number of cities that fund their own benefits will likely slice pensions to cope.

"Property values are down and investments are down. Pensions have to be analyzed and put into perspective," said Joseph Safford, Delray Beach's finance director.

Pension costs will gobble about $10 million, or 10 percent of the city's budget beginning Oct. 1. To cope, the city hired an actuary to identify some cuts, with a report due this summer. To the north, West Palm Beach commissioners on Monday will consider doing the same.

"When you sign up to become a police officer, one of the things you look at is pension," McGuire said. "Late in the game, to say we are going to cut something, I think it's unfair."

City officials say there's little choice.

"It is increasingly difficult for taxpayers to continue to fund government at the same level,'' said Sunrise City Manager Bruce Moeller. "The unions understand that the costs are going up. They have an interest in making sure their pension fund is viable for employees."