Rachel 72. Cute but off the mark. Your statement indicates you do not have a good understanding of the issues. Some union issues are a problem, some are not - neither denial or overstatement of fact are helpful.
"Cuomo’s hardline through Schenectady lens January 29, 2013 at 11:32 am by Lauren Stanforth, Staff writer
Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the Times Union’s editorial board Monday, and provided a hardline for those cities that are looking for aid relief to plug multi-million dollar budget holes. He said the answer is restructuring, possibly under a control board – with a control board having the authority to freeze municipal union contracts.
Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy didn’t testify during a government hearing on municipal aid Tuesday, as Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Rochester and Syracuse’s mayors did. But he certainly has been banging the increased aid drum since being elected in 2011. In Schenectady’s case, it’s more equity that’s the complaint rather than requiring more aid (as Utica gets a larger percentage of aid than Schenectady does).
But Schenectady has the same problems as Syracuse and Rochester – the city must provide municipal services to a city that has infrastructure built for 100,000 people – but now has a tax base of 60,000. And in Schenectady, only about 78 percent of property owners pay their taxes.
However, most of the city’s tax dollars go toward paying for public safety – $26 million for 2013, when only $31.4 million is expected to be collected in taxes. Cuomo’s hint at reigning in unions would help in Schenectady’s case, as its police union got 4 percent raises in 2011 and 2012 and will get a 3 percent salary increase this year."
Not overstating facts here visitor.
The police union is sucking the taxbase dry.
The teachers in the district make around $20K more than average (combat pay maybe). $150 million +/- budget for a school district and a little over half the kids graduate.
Those are facts Visitor. The Unions in the City bastardized their purpose. Our City cannot afford their luxuries.
"Cuomo’s hardline through Schenectady lens January 29, 2013 at 11:32 am by Lauren Stanforth, Staff writer
Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the Times Union’s editorial board Monday, and provided a hardline for those cities that are looking for aid relief to plug multi-million dollar budget holes. He said the answer is restructuring, possibly under a control board – with a control board having the authority to freeze municipal union contracts.
Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy didn’t testify during a government hearing on municipal aid Tuesday, as Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Rochester and Syracuse’s mayors did. But he certainly has been banging the increased aid drum since being elected in 2011. In Schenectady’s case, it’s more equity that’s the complaint rather than requiring more aid (as Utica gets a larger percentage of aid than Schenectady does).
But Schenectady has the same problems as Syracuse and Rochester – the city must provide municipal services to a city that has infrastructure built for 100,000 people – but now has a tax base of 60,000. And in Schenectady, only about 78 percent of property owners pay their taxes.
However, most of the city’s tax dollars go toward paying for public safety – $26 million for 2013, when only $31.4 million is expected to be collected in taxes. Cuomo’s hint at reigning in unions would help in Schenectady’s case, as its police union got 4 percent raises in 2011 and 2012 and will get a 3 percent salary increase this year."
Not overstating facts here visitor.
The police union is sucking the taxbase dry.
The teachers in the district make around $20K more than average (combat pay maybe). $150 million +/- budget for a school district and a little over half the kids graduate.
Those are facts Visitor. The Unions in the City bastardized their purpose. Our City cannot afford their luxuries.
rachel72. You are correct. The Pensions are padded as can be seen through simple data analysis of the payrolls in the years that miraculously ramp up right before retirement. The other benefits for current and retired are insane, lavish and generous. The payments that the city needs to make into the NYS Retirement System will get larger and larger year after year. The same is happening to the school district. It is a Perfect Storm scenario. Moodys will not be helping with the recovery efforts.
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
Control Board is a means to let the politicians off the hook. Because, they knew, or should have known, that at some point, there would be a reckoning.
What is needed is a fair and intelligent means of calculating contracts for employees who do not have the ability to strike, while ensuring the compensation is fair and reasonable. Take the pols out of it, get real economists, HR, and labor attorney experts and have them devise a means to get this done. That means get rid of the arbitration mediation army of attorneys and have contracts calculated and adjusted by real experts, not pols, not attorneys.
Control Board lets the pols break the promises they knew or should have known they cannot keep.
RE: student performance - to lay underachievement all at the feet of teachers is indicative of a lack of understanding the issues.
Two parties brought it to this point - unions and pols - you are arguing for only holding one sides' feet to the fire.
Two parties brought it to this point - unions and pols - you are arguing for only holding one sides' feet to the fire.
Pols don't contribute money to unions and influence who they are going to negotiate with. Unions contribute money to pols to influence who they are going to negotiate with.
When the city's top paying jobs are held by unionized government employees, their money and organization disproportionately influence the government, and more specifically when it comes to their union contracts.
Control Board is a means to let the politicians off the hook. Because, they knew, or should have known, that at some point, there would be a reckoning.
What is needed is a fair and intelligent means of calculating contracts for employees who do not have the ability to strike, while ensuring the compensation is fair and reasonable. Take the pols out of it, get real economists, HR, and labor attorney experts and have them devise a means to get this done. That means get rid of the arbitration mediation army of attorneys and have contracts calculated and adjusted by real experts, not pols, not attorneys.
Control Board lets the pols break the promises they knew or should have known they cannot keep.
RE: student performance - to lay underachievement all at the feet of teachers is indicative of a lack of understanding the issues.
Two parties brought it to this point - unions and pols - you are arguing for only holding one sides' feet to the fire.
Nice to talk about what could be done but it is a little too late. The Unions got greedy and just like with GM the price will be paid.
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
What is needed is a fair and intelligent means of calculating contracts for employees who do not have the ability to strike, while ensuring the compensation is fair and reasonable. Take the pols out of it, get real economists, HR, and labor attorney experts and have them devise a means to get this done. That means get rid of the arbitration mediation army of attorneys and have contracts calculated and adjusted by real experts, not pols, not attorneys.
Control Board lets the pols break the promises they knew or should have known they cannot keep.
RE: student performance - to lay underachievement all at the feet of teachers is indicative of a lack of understanding the issues.
Two parties brought it to this point - unions and pols - you are arguing for only holding one sides' feet to the fire.
I never said that teachers are the problem...the union is the problem. Make Schenectady a Union Free District. Individual contracts based on performance and experience for teachers, admin, janitors, etc...stop the generous lifetime medical/health/dental benefits for all educators (past and present). You know Ely is probably getting his teeth cleaned with City taxpayer money.
The police force, the City workers, the fire departments, the school districts...these should all be run as if we were running a business, not a charity. Taxpayer money is being poured into failing entities. Any large company would have stopped the abuse years ago because the pensions, retirement schemes would have bankrupt any fortune 500 company.
Let's start with the Mayor. Let him chose either his mayoral salary or his state pension because for him to receive both...well that's an abuse. This is the type of scam happening all over the state ..and in our City.
Don't have a problem with Mayor receiving both. He earned pension and he is doing job as Mayor ( - it is not costing the taxpayer's anything more because he receives a pension. )
Because someone receives a pension they earned, they should perform their elected position for free, when it costs the taxpayer no additional funds? Illogical.
Because someone receives a pension they earned, they should perform their elected position for free, when it costs the taxpayer no additional funds? Illogical.
Political party apparachik are entitled to as much taxpayer money as they want. That's all the more taxpayer money you can get to fund the political machines that keep them in power. The public workers unions and government administrators do a very good job at consolidating power and reinvesting their taxpayer funded paychecks into the party that maintains the gravey train. They let a few private businesses on the gravey train like Galesi, and Highbridge Construction, and a few other cronies to keep the scam alive.
And they really don't care that they are making the residents of Schenectady their tax slaves. Their job is to convince you that you are not.
Don't have a problem with Mayor receiving both. He earned pension and he is doing job as Mayor ( - it is not costing the taxpayer's anything more because he receives a pension. ) Because someone receives a pension they earned, they should perform their elected position for free, when it costs the taxpayer no additional funds? Illogical.
No, when a person is receiving a state pension, yet is ALSO receiving a governmental salary from that same state....um...at the same time??!!!???
Well, you might be right Visitor. I'm assuming that the Mayor is doing a job....
Kinda' like how the general public believes that 'grant' money is 'free' ...or that Metroplex loans generate interest....or that PILOT agreements are made public. Keep the quasi-criminal behavior going ...someday maybe someone will wake up and put an end to the greed which is bankrupting the City of Schenectady.
Don't have a problem with Mayor receiving both. He earned pension and he is doing job as Mayor ( - it is not costing the taxpayer's anything more because he receives a pension. )
Because someone receives a pension they earned, they should perform their elected position for free, when it costs the taxpayer no additional funds? Illogical.
visitor, you are missing the bigger picture. It does cost the taxpayers additional funds as the Mayor should not have the ability to collect a Pension while at the same time take a job away from someone else. Every single definition that I could find for Pension mentioned the person being retired. The definition also mentioned contributions to the system. As you know the contributions made to the retirement system by city, county and state employees is a joke. The other way that the double dipping hurts the taxpayers is that whatever small contributions that McCarthy made and the larger contribution that the tax payers made on McCarthys behalf would be sitting in an account right now collecting interest. He should work or retire.
To think that this arragement doesnt hurt the tax payers is......Illogical.
pension1 n 1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a regular payment made by the state to people over a certain age to enable them to subsist without having to work 2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a regular payment made by an employer to former employees after they retire 3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a regular payment made to a retired person as the result of his or her contributions to a personal pension scheme 4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) any regular payment made on charitable grounds, by way of patronage, or in recognition of merit, service, etc. a pension paid to a disabled soldier
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
visitor, you are missing the bigger picture. It does cost the taxpayers additional funds as the Mayor should not have the ability to collect a Pension while at the same time take a job away from someone else. Every single definition that I could find for Pension mentioned the person being retired. The definition also mentioned contributions to the system. As you know the contributions made to the retirement system by city, county and state employees is a joke. The other way that the double dipping hurts the taxpayers is that whatever small contributions that McCarthy made and the larger contribution that the tax payers made on McCarthys behalf would be sitting in an account right now collecting interest. He should work or retire.
To think that this arragement doesnt hurt the tax payers is......Illogical.
pension1 n 1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a regular payment made by the state to people over a certain age to enable them to subsist without having to work 2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a regular payment made by an employer to former employees after they retire 3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a regular payment made to a retired person as the result of his or her contributions to a personal pension scheme 4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) any regular payment made on charitable grounds, by way of patronage, or in recognition of merit, service, etc. a pension paid to a disabled soldier
TIB this whole thread begins with abuse of power and ends with it as well.
Hotaling was abusing his power as a cop. The unions abuse their power as an entity. We even see how the Mayor can abuse his power by collecting his salary and a pension at the same time (he snuck that in a week AFTER he was elected).
No one sees it as abuse until it comes to light and hurts others.
Just because it's not illegal YET does not mean it's morally unjust now.
What about someone with a military pension - should they not get paid for holding elective office? It's the same concept.
Please do not compare McCarthys "service" to that of someone in the military. No comparison. Besides, someone would almost have to be a General in order to pull in a $96,000 pension in the military.
Either way the pension should not be paid while the recipient is employed full time.
I take it you agree with my assessment of how it hurts the taxpayers?
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
Please do not compare McCarthys "service" to that of someone in the military. No comparison. Besides, someone would almost have to be a General in order to pull in a $96,000 pension in the military.
Either way the pension should not be paid while the recipient is employed full time.
I take it you agree with my assessment of how it hurts the taxpayers?
Nice try Visitor...but it takes 20 years of military service in order to receive a military pension. This excludes over 80% of all current enlisted persons (not many make it to the 20 year mark). How many people in a NYS job don't make it to retirement...not many.
McCheesy made $105,000 at his state job, came into part-time mayor at age 54, then at election at 55 he retired to get his pension. That's ontop of his $96,700 salary he receives.
Funny thing about McCheesy's salary, it didn't change from last year, but his mayoral assistants salary went down.
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