Two basic questions when buying something, or when signing a contract, are: “How much is this going to cost?” and “Where is the money coming from?”
I think these are commonsense questions, and ones that every person would ask, or think about, before buying a big ticket item such as a car or home.
In Westfield, the City Council is about to approve labor contracts worth millions of dollars without knowing the answer to these questions.
There are checks and balances in Massachusetts government, and one of them is that the Mayor can negotiate contracts, but the City Council votes on the funding. The law (MGL 150E Section 7) is clear: the Mayor “shall submit to the appropriate legislative body within thirty days after the date on which the agreement is executed by the parties, a request for an appropriation necessary to fund the cost items contained therein….” and “If the appropriate legislative body duly rejects the request for an appropriation necessary to fund the cost items, such cost items shall be returned to the parties for further bargaining.”
In Westfield, we haven’t received these costs, and without these detailed costs, we can’t do our duty (to the taxpayers) to fully deliberate the costs, funding, and consequences before deciding to approve or reject specific cost items as intended by the law. That’s our role, and that’s how we as a City Council can weigh-in on the labor contracts and their impact on the City Budget, operations of the City, and ultimately on the property tax bills for homeowners and businesses.
There are some councilors who feel we have no role in this, and that the Mayor negotiates the best he can. Others mistakenly believe we are not even entitled to know the costs. Both are very wrong. The law referenced above clearly says that the legislative body can REJECT an appropriation for SUCH COST ITEMS and return them for further negotiation. Several legal rulings substantiate this. Regarding the monetary costs, the City Council is entitled to investigate any financial transaction in the City, and is by law THE ONLY body in the city that can approve the appropriation of City money.
The City Council can, and in my opinion should, ask for detailed costs for each year of the contracts, and for details about how the contracts will be funded. Westfield, like other cities and towns, faces great financial challenges. This year, to fund a 1% labor increase and balance the budget, the Mayor’s proposed budget maximized the property taxes (an increase of about 3.47%), establishing new hotel and meals taxes, and drained money from the Free Cash or Stabilization accounts. There are also many necessary items that are not included in the budget, and the city is not setting aside enough money to pay for benefits it has promised employees (we owe them about $300 million in today’s dollars).
One thing to note is that 1% isn’t really just 1%. Many of the union contracts have additional compensation based on years of service, education, or other miscellaneous payments. For example, many employees received 25% more for having certain degrees. That alone quickly turns the 1% into 1.25%. That’s a big difference (25% more) when the budgets are in the millions of dollars.
The proposed labor contacts being voted on this week call for 2.5% increases each year for the next two years. How much is that going to cost? $500K? $1M? $2M? $4M? Where’s the money coming from? Westfield is quickly approaching its levy ceiling (the maximum amount we can collect in property taxes); we can’t raise hotel and meals taxes again (they’re already at the max); we have known recurring increases in costs related to pensions (5% year over year); and, we’re burning up the limited Free Cash and Stabilization accounts. Are we going to be forced to cut operating expenses to fund the labor contracts? What’s that mean for our buildings, roads, parks, and schools? Are we going to have to lay-off some employees in order to give raises to others?
We should know these answers before voting on the contracts.
If you agree, please reach out to your City Councilors or attend the public City Council meeting on Thursday evening at 7PM in City Hall.
David Flaherty
Westfield City Councilor
