Make time for budget talks

7 Comments

1. 

   plurimus

    /  June 6, 2016

   Hi Nancy,

   One way to even out the pay gap is to give a performance bonus. This gets around flat percentage raises and incentivises performance. Of course the question always come down to who does the evaluation and making sure one department is not overly incentivised at the expense of others.

   Swimming vs. signs. It would seem to me that there are other more pressing items to spend the $7-8K on (like debt reduction), but others probably have a different opinion. Benefits are likely subjective, but i think a quick cost/benefit analysis might make the decision easier. How does it compare to raises for teachers or replacing worn out buses?

   Deadlines are final by definition, but it might be interesting to see if there is a common cause for missing them?

   How can the manager cancel a work session without agreement from the TC?

2. 

   Nancy

    /  June 6, 2016

   My understanding is that bonuses aren’t factored in when calculating retirement pay, so employees prefer to have the actual salary raised.

   Buses, teacher pay and OPEB are all more important in the big picture. But $7K won’t make much of a difference in those big-ticket items. It would make a big difference in the lives of the regular swimmers who have seen their water time cut in half and have waited patiently all these years to get the attention of someone who cares.

   As for how the town manager can cancel a meeting without council’s blessing, I don’t know. I’m new at this.

3. 

   plurimus

    /  June 6, 2016

   Nancy,

   True about bonuses not being factored in, however the current practice among large employers is to pay employed competitively in the market range and incentives via bonus. The two are complementary and one will not work without the other.

   I am sure from you own budget experience that you know reducing debt amounts to “paying yourself” and sometimes reducing debt has a greater return. Every little bit helps and makes for greater flexibility later.

   I sometimes wonder if the manager knows who he works for.

4. 

   George C

    /  June 7, 2016

   Nancy,
   I’m surprised that you suggested that we could better spend the money going toward sign replacement for swimming hours given that the Manager sent you an email 4 days earlier telling you that his recommended budget had restored all three days of swimming.
   “The Recommended Budget includes funding for all three days of swimming. Based on the discussion last night, I believe we will add all three days and provide information to council on how that is working. Let me know if I can provide more clear information.”
   Regarding the cancelled work session, it was always on the calendar as “tentative”. The Manager felt that staff didn’t have anything new to present, that all Council members’ questions had been answered (such as your question regarding the swimming hours) either in previous meetings or via email responses (such as the 16 questions and answers I consolidated into the single PDF file), and I believe that the Manager conferred with the Mayor and she concurred that an additional work session was not necessary. If a majority of Council members want(ed) one we could insist on it but I haven’t heard a loud cry for that to happen.

5. 

   plurimus

    /  June 7, 2016

   George C

   You seem to be missing the main issues. What about Nancy’s point that “….we have not done any long-term planning or strategics about how to maintain or enhance quality of life and what priorities must be shifted to get where we want to go” (this is a pet peeve of mine and I think that budget talks are the perfect context for a broader and much delayed discussion on the “vision thing”)

   What about “….a 3.5% across-the-board pay raise for town employees. However, that will widen the wealth gap. A 3.5% increase would raise the pay of a $30,000-a-year worker to only $31,050, while a $150,000 worker would be bumped up to $155,250.” ? It seems like that at least deserves a common understanding if not agreement on what that means to pension obligations as well as how to incentivise and reward town employees in a flat economic environment.

   Not wanting to speak for Nancy, but reading between the lines I get the feeling that this is just business as usual and there is a lot more to this than siloed .PPT presentations from each department and the manager counting another bean in his list of things to do. The opportunity cost of missing a discussion on strategy going forward seems obvious to the casual observer.

6. 

   Del Snow

    /  June 8, 2016

   I think that the budget problems are much bigger than the relatively small amounts of money discussed in this thread.
   1. We have a $10 million TIF outstanding that is supposed to be paid back with increased revenues from EF. Applications so far have been minor, and the ones expected are for more high end housing, which I will call revenue neutral at best. My guess is that money will have to be moved from OTHER revenue sources to make the payments on the TIF.
   2. The FBC tried to make the case for the value of density in EF, but by the Town’s own admission, no funds for added transit were assumed. Has there been any discussion of the necessity of increased CH Transit services to avoid the resulting traffic congestion? Traffic congestion undermines economic development. We can’t keep on pushing density (anywhere) without a corresponding rise in transit service.
   3. The Town is considering other TIFs on Town Owned Buildings. Why are we mortgaging the Town?
   4. The Town is trying to sell off its assets to get needed cash.
   I have long argued for a comprehensive look at all of the development going on in town, and after 8 years of keeping my own records, the Town has FINALLY created a similar document. We need a similar analysis of the the economic STRATEGY – one that looks at the consequences of TIFs (plural) and selling Town assets. in the future, not just for the budget year or two.
   In the future, can the Town end up with only a few assets and lots of mortgages, in addition to the current debt (including the $56 million liability for employee health benefits)?

7. 

   Nancy

    /  June 12, 2016

   George, my questions weren’t for the town manager, they were for other council members. And we can’t have an email conversation among council members without risk of violating the open meetings law. I have been waiting for the scheduled time for council members to discuss things, and maybe that won’t be until Monday night, the same night we are expected to vote on the budget. That seems too late in the process to be effective. Next year I’ll know: Loud cry, beginning in January.