Unions reject Bell's giveback plan

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The man who was Toledo's longtime fire chief said he needs all hands to battle a raging budget deficit. But yesterday, unions representing the city's safety forces handed him a proverbial sand bucket and a garden hose and told him "good luck."

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell has proposed concessions that include eliminating pension pickups for city employees and having them pay 20 percent of their health-care costs. In a Feb. 12 letter, he gave the unions until yesterday for an answer.

In response, he got terse letters from the presidents of the Toledo Police Patrolman's Association, led by Dan Wagner, and Firefighters Local 92, led by Wayne Hartford, who said their members had given enough.

Mr. Bell declined to comment yesterday.

"The mayor is reserving response until we get answers from all of our bargaining units," said Jen Sorgenfrei, Mr. Bell's spokesman.

AFSCME Local 7, the Toledo police command officers' union, and the fire command officers' union did not respond by yesterday's deadline.

The givebacks are part of the mayor's plan to balance an estimated $48 million general fund deficit.

Mr. Bell had also suggested city workers should take a 10 percent wage cut, but he pulled that off the table at the same time he withdrew his request for voters in May to increase the city's income tax by another 0.25 percentage point.

The city inked three-year contracts in July, 2009, with the TPPA and Local 92.

"During the bargaining, the city and the TPPA were cognizant of the city's projected financial hardship over the next three years, and this understanding drove the concessions that resulted in an agreement," wrote Mr. Wagner, TPPA president.

"The city foresaw a shortfall in the tax revenue which the TPPA investigated and responded to by its members' agreement to concede a 7 percent loss due to pension giveback, and the higher health-insurance costs - all in the midst of the lowest manpower slump in the modern history of the Toledo Police Department," Mr. Wagner wrote.

His letter ended by questioning the "legitimacy of the city's request" but left the door open for future talks. Yesterday, Mr. Wagner softened his stance and reiterated that he is still willing to talk to the mayor.

"It is premature for us to accept or deny any concessions," he told The Blade. "He wants us to make a decision on an offer he made without an ability to refute or rebut, so I think it's premature that we would entertain a deal."

Mr. Wagner said Toledo's economy will rebound in 2010 better than the Bell administration predicts and such deep concessions won't be needed.

"They want us to take concessions based on an assumption," he said. "His budget deficit plan ended up with a [$1.17 million] surplus for the city."

All city budgets are based on assumptions for the year.

Mr. Hartford, president of Firefighter Local 92, responded in a similar manner in his letter to the mayor.

"Your letter prompts Local 92 to remind the city of the 7 percent cut, two-year wage freeze, and health-insurance givebacks Local 92 recently accepted," Mr. Hartford wrote to the mayor.

"These significant givebacks placed many Local 92 members and their families on the precipice of financial ruin," he wrote. "Your 'request' for another 15 percent would only push numerous firefighters over the financial edge, causing irreparable harm not only on an individual basis but to the department and the city as a whole."

While the police and fire unions did agree to concessions in the contracts that were approved mid-2009, some of the cutbacks were temporary.

The contracts required officers and firefighters to pay into their own pension plan for six months, froze wages for two years, and required them for the first time to pay a portion of their health-insurance costs.

In exchange for the half-year partial pension pickup, the patrolmen and firefighters got an additional 6 1/2 vacation days through Dec. 31, 2009.

But at the same time, the contract grants a 3.5 percent pay increase beginning Jan. 1, 2011.

Also, after the first six months under the contract, the city resumed making the entire 10 percent employee share of the pension payment, which is on top of the employer's contribution of 19.5 percent.

Any newly hired police officers will have to pay the full 10 percent of the employee's pension share.

The contract also deferred all overtime payments for the remainder of 2009 until March 1, but police officers may choose to take compensatory time instead of banking their overtime.

Toledo City Council voted 8-3 on July 7, 2009, to approve the police contract after the Finkbeiner administration negotiated it.

Council voted 10-1 on July 28, 2009, to approve the Local 9 agreement.

Councilman Tom Waniewski, who voted against both contracts, said he was disappointed with the union leaders yesterday.

"I am not surprised and I don't think anyone should be surprised," Mr. Waniewski said. "We knew ahead of time this was going to handcuff us and that we could not afford the contracts. It was evident and I have been preaching this since day one."

He added: "They gave up six months of that pension in exchange for vacation days and that is no bargain for taxpayers."

The Finkbeiner administration also agreed in the contracts to pay the police and firefighters a 2 percent lump-sum bonus in April if the city's 2009 income tax receipts exceed $148 million; 4.5 percent if the collections exceed $150 million; 7 percent if taxes rise above $152.5 million, and 9 percent if collections exceed $155 million.

Councilman George Sarantou yesterday said the 2009 income tax collections totaled $141.3 million, so those payouts will not be made.

That figure is also greater than the $138.7 million the Bell administration estimated to collect for 2009. That could mean the 2010 deficit will be reduced by the $2.6 million difference to about $45.6 million, Mr. Sarantou said.

"Every little bit helps, but we still have a huge problem," he said. "Clearly, we have a fiscal crisis and the recovery period to see an increase in tax revenue is going to be slow."

Alan Cox, president of AFSCME Local 2058, said once concessions were obtained from the other city unions in the general fund, his unit would at that point discuss additional cutbacks.

Chuck Collinson, business representative for Teamsters Local 20, which represents the refuse collectors, said the union is already in talks and has had five collective bargaining sessions.

"I am sure that you understand that it is difficult to entertain concessions, or any bargaining proposal in the absence of specific proposals for changes and/or modifications to any successor collective bargaining agreement between the union and the city," Mr. Collinson wrote.

Contact Ignazio Messina at:

imessina@theblade.com

or 419-724-6171.