Local News
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Council benefits draw more fireFEATURES WRITER
Fostoria City Council’s plans to cut non-union employees’ health care benefits met opposition at Tuesday’s meeting from those employees.
“While there are only a handful of non-union employees, we always take the brunt of the cutbacks whenever the city has a financial problem. We are the first to have our pay cut and the last to see it return to normal,” Fostoria Municipal Court clerk Janice Russell read from a statement on behalf of herself and deputy clerks Amy Dieter and Pamela Blachuta.
Employees had believed a pay raise was under consideration for council, but the legislation had been amended prior to the meeting. Council members approved a pay freeze at $5,400 for themselves through 2012.
“I’d like to remind the public that council went for many, many, many years without a pay increase. ... It’s not like council is doing this because it makes a boatload of money,” said Councilwoman Barbara Marley.
The state of the Council’s health care and full-time benefits, however, were another sticking point.
“As full-time employees, we feel that we are being penalized: We are subsidizing the benefits of the part-time elected officials on city council. Currently, the members of city council enjoy the same benefits that a full-time employee receives. At best, a council member puts in approximately five to 15 hours per week. There are no other jobs in existence where a person can work only a few hours a week and collect full-time benefits of health insurance and retirement,” Russell’s letter continued.
Sgt. Patrick Brooks of the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolence Association Command Division Union also encouraged Council to make cuts in light of the cuts it is asking of the unions. He pointed out the safety forces had made a number of voluntary cuts, including not taking overtime for mandatory training sessions, using personal vehicles for training and not taking their ammunition allowance for the last year.
“My membership has made it explicitly clear if Council and the city is wanting us to bite the bullet and take pay cuts or take some financial cuts to help the city through these financial times, council needs to be willing to do the same thing,” said Brooks.
At the request of several union employees, Mayor John Davoli proposed an ordinance to restrict health care benefits to full-time elected officials only. The ordinance died without a reading when no member of council would make a motion.
Following the meeting, Davoli stated he had contacted other mayors and cities as well as businesses and said he could find no other entity that offered such benefits to part-time employees.
“This will be the last time I talk about this. We have a core group of council that want to control everything with the city manager form of government because their main mantra is they want to run the city like a business. And here we are. I want them to find me one business out there who pays full health, dental and pharmaceuticals. It’s the most hypocritical thing I’ve seen in my 14 years in government. ’Let’s run it like a business, let’s run it like a business, let’s run it like a business — except when it comes to me,” said Davoli.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
Fostoria, OH 44830
The Findlay Publishing Company
P.O. Box 609
Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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9 Comments
Latest comments listed first.Voting rights laws passed in the 1960's prevented literacy tests and poll taxes as voting requirements.
In 1971 a constitutional amendment was added to the United States Constitution making it legal in all fifty states for an eighteen year old to vote.
It is illegal to deny someone the right to vote based on educational level, age, sex, or previous social status in the United States.
I would hope the local media investigates further the comments by local elected leaders, that went unchallenged by other elected leaders, concerning "jobs lost to Mexico" or "an eighteen year old dropout or other unqualified person" becoming mayor.
The discussion over whether to adopt a city manager has little to do with illusory job losses to Mexico, a bordering nation that is one of America's greatest allies, trading partners, and a nation America shares so much common culture with.
Neither do comments disparaging high school dropouts should not discourage or intimidate voters from casting votes on the issues and candidates in the upcoming election. People drop out of school for many reasons that often are not of their own choosing or affecting their ability to vote.
But such comments, without further explanation or context, do mean something as to who should serve on city council.
worker.
Many persons under eighteen who work belong to unions, including in the Fostoria community.
The city council president has been quoted in the paper casting doubts on whether those who do not have high school diplomas should even vote (one in four Fostorians, by the 2000 census count, does not have a diploma). Also, that younger persons should not vote.
A student just graduating from high school at eighteen has just completed an education that included math, science, vocational skills such as business classes, and civics and history classes. They also have been involved with many school activities. Many have held jobs and have had serious family responsibilities.
St. Joan of Arc and Alexander the Great were teenagers when they achieved historical significance and greatness. There is a St. Joan of Arc church parish in the Diocese of Toledo.
What other restrictions to voting does the council and council president "see" in the future along with the change to a city manager form of government?
Seems eliminating literacy tests through civil rights legislation in the 1960's and lowering the voting age to eighteen in 1971 (so soldiers, many without a high school diploma, could vote) have had some definite positive results.
The last election for President saw a Vietnam veteran (with a female vice presidential candidate whose political career started as a mayor) run against a multiethnic, African-American candidate (who owes much of his political success and election victory to a Chicago, Illinois based political system that has a strong mayor government at its center).
That is America, is it not?
Therefore, elected officials should not receive any benefits and be paid what is reflected by the minimum wage
(council is not that highly overpaid)
Benefits for city employees should be fully paid based on hours worked. Part-time employees should receive benefit compensation per each hour worked.
Base salaries and wages of city employees should relfect the median wage of what persons in the community earn (the 2000 Census reported that to be about 32000 dollars.)
Two questions: What is the ratio of men to women working for the city government? What is the compensation of men compared to women who work for city government?
The council should encourage all employees who can to seek union representation if they wish to so they may benefit from collective bargaining.
The city will have increased revenue if the school levy passes due to construction related activity.
No public money should be spent on tourism. (Tourism should not be discouraged, either).
The schools (public and private) are the biggest tourist attraction the city has. (the city also hosts several all-star and pre-season games). There is not even a close second in terms of outside tourists in the form of visiting sports fans and those attending music, theater, and other school activities.
The city building site is a much more marketable publically owned building than either publically owned Field or Riley schools.
The council should have declared its intention to move city offices to Field and Riley if the levy passes. Then the city building site could be sold for downtown development.
Maybe I will run for council in the next election, whose seat can I take? I live on E. North St and Towne St.