The wool gets pulled over my eyes every time a Chenango County government body goes into an executive session, and it’s happened dozens of times over the past four years I’ve reported for The Evening Sun.
On many other occasions, a committee chairman or department director has asked for my indulgence on matters discussed during the regular meeting, particularly when they involve personnel. I always oblige. An unelected employee’s personal life is really nobody’s business.
Unfortunately, my agreeable nature has not always led officials to, in turn, indulge me with honest reasons for going into executive session. In the case of labor negotiations or lawsuits, they never tell me what the subject matter is or who the complainants are, unless I first ask. Sometimes, especially if the county’s attorney is in the room, they actually refuse to elaborate. What’s worse, there have been times when the executive session ended, but I’ve not made it back into the room in time to hear the subject of a resulting vote.
Two recent and unsuccessful Freedom of Information requests I’ve made regarding labor negotiations and legal issues discussed in executive session leave me thinking I’m not ever really going to get to tell you where all of your county tax dollars were spent last year. The thing is, I find it alarming that surplus dropped from $16 to $12 million since the beginning of 2007, and I figured you might, too.
I FOILed the county in November to try to find out how much was spent on labor contracts, labor negotiations and lawsuits in 2007. At least, that’s what I thought I was asking. I received the contract and arbitration costs of one union instead of the three that were settled last year ($450,000 for the Law Enforcement Association, retroactively to 2005), a printout of payments to a negotiator ($4,500) and the amount paid to arbitration lawyers representing the county in lawsuits last year, some of which regarded labor unions ($40,700).
I did not receive negotiation costs of the Sheriff’s Employees Association, Inc., which split off from the Law Enforcement Association last year. The response regarding my FOIL request indicated said review would be completed within 30 days and that I “would be advised accordingly.” That never happened.
Moreover, I realized that I had not asked the right questions. I wanted to find out how much the actual provisions over the term of the three contracts amounted to. For example, I know that The New York State Nurses Association contract was ratified last fall with an 8.2 percent salary increase on Sept. 1, and a 3.25 increase on Oct. 1 for each year through 2009. What I don’t know, and still don’t, is the total amount paid out.
So, after three months of much handwringing, I decided to FOIL the county again. I asked for “a report or documents” indicating the contracts’ total cost. I also asked for “a report or other documents” indicating the amount awarded via arbitration in 2007, “per union.”
The response to my request? Much the same. This time the specific words I used, “report or other document” were called out as inaccurate. Must be there is no one single keeper of this information and no one single person is going to work hard enough for me in order to create such an all-encompassing “report or other document.”
To be frank, I’m not exactly certain how to ask for what I think I want and not sure whether I’m even capable of assimilating all of the raw data once I get it. I’m no expert on labor unions, benefit options, and what’s legal and what’s not. I only know that the county spent a lot of taxpayer money last year on labor issues.
(I have since learned that full-time rank and file workers in Chenango County are categorized in 75 different pay groups, whether based on unions and employment dates. That alone makes my head spin.)
I’ve heard supervisors speculate that we could be out of debt by 2011 or 2012 when the bond from the Pharsalia Landfill is retired. I’m also aware the county treasurer works hard to prevent surplus from dipping below $10 million. Yet, current plans include borrowing again: Cell 3 at the landfill and the West Park Office Complex can’t be afforded without more borrowing.
I also know that the current Civil Service Employees Association’s five-year contract expires at the end of 2008 and the county’s retirement plan is approaching $2 million a year. And just recently, health insurance claims exceeded the health plan’s budget last year by nearly $650,000 (They include $323,000 per week for prescriptions!).
Oops, and how could I forget the emergency management communcations system? The $3 million project once billed at $3 million is now fast approaching $5 million, I’m told.
I could go on and on about the costs of government. I’m just sorry I’m unable to fill you in on all of the decisions the people we elected made to get there.