Supervisors slash services to protect union jobs
May 7, 2008
BUDGET 20008 — CLAIMS WE CAN’T BELIEVE IN
YES THEY CAN. Contra Costa County Supervisors (BOS) passed its 2008-09 budget by slashing county services to the poor and public safety. Let’s cut thru the spin from the Contra Costa Times:
- $51 million cut is still only 3.9 percent of $1.3 billion overall budget.
- “clamping down” and “capping subsidies” on health care benefits for non-union employees is serious cherry picking of low hanging fruit instead of dealing with union employees.
- “For the first time in a decade, county spending will drop next year” A sure sign of the Apocalypse.
- Eliminates 192 positions, most vacant. 30 positions will be notified but CAO cannot provide a number for actual layoffs. So let’s spin around three times yelling ZERO JOBS LOST like we mean it.
- Arguing over a measly $4,000,000 (0.3 percent of budget) to privatize custodial, maintenance, and gardening from the Health Dept is insane.
- Suggesting the County would lose control (when it already has…like the out of control overtime and the $600,000 pyschiatrist running Doctors Hospital!) and longtime county employees are more qualified; with Rollie Katz arguing that you don’t know what you’re going to get when the cost approaches triple of same services in private sector is insane.
- Still waiting for the BOS to put any substantial money into the mythical OPEB lockbox. Now they have “approved budget set asides of $20 million.” Pick one: Goona Gonna Gonna v. Acutally doing it.
- “The best employees will leave and then you’ll be sorry.” Like the $600,000 pyschiatrist running Doctors? MAKE MY DAY!
- “These cuts are just the beginning” The structural insanity of paying more than you take in has been going on for a long time, but even in the at last three budget cycles, nothing was done.
- To blame future cuts due to this structural deficit on state revenue cutbacks or that only 13 percent is discretionary spending is insane.
Oh for the good ole days when Supervisor John “Igor” Gioia jerked the public and press around with his semantic game of whether the County cuts were a “challenge” and not a “crisis.”
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3 Responses to “Supervisors slash services to protect union jobs”
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The huge retiree healthcare debt of a measly two billion dollars has grown under this board and has been publicized by some outspoken citizens. What has been hidden from the public is the horrendous salaries being paid to employees. 1425 make over $100K a year is wages alone (that’s bout one in every five). What private business has 1 in 5 employees being paid like that?
But even more egregious are the benefits added to those salaries., These benefits run between 70% and 107% (107% in health services) of salaries. So most of these 1425 folks are really making (and costing the taxpayers) around $200K with some of them pulling in some half million dollars in total compensation.
But the, let’s just cut more services to county residents who need them to keep these overpaid employees in fat city. After all, the Supervisors wouldn’t dare take on the unions. It’s a lot easier to cut services than have the guts to cut salaries and benefits back to a reasonable level.
Thank you Mary Piepho D-Discovery Bay!
” Let keep spending under control ” , ” By policy we will not spend more than we take in ” ( can we hold off on that statement till after our 60% raise ?)
( it’s ok , we will still provide union people with full benefits but those lower class non-union people will have to suffer )
( Oh, ps I need my $ 250,000 dollar office furniture and remodel before that first policy goes in affect )
OK, have we pissed away all the money we can so we can put that policy in place about spending ?
Vote for me because I can balance the budget and have put spending in line,
and look there still are checks left in my book.
Good news , I’ve found extra money ! Vote for Me !