Burlco Freeholder Candidates Want a Word with the CWA
Matt Rooney | July 2, 2009
Burlington County Freeholder candidates Bruce Garganio (R) and Mary Ann O’Brien (R) have grand plans to get their South Jersey county moving again despite Jon Corzine's crippling new taxes and habitual mismanagement. The pair released their extensive plan to restructure county government earlier today. At the center of the proposal is an insistence on new negotiations with the CWA.
Wow. New Jersey politicians who take their fiduciary duty to the taxpayers seriously. What a concept! Corzine should take notes...
THE PLAN
1. Conduct an Independent Operational Audit of County Government.
Burlington County Freeholder candidates Bruce Garganio (R) and Mary Ann O’Brien (R) have grand plans to get their South Jersey county moving again despite Jon Corzine's crippling new taxes and habitual mismanagement. The pair released their extensive plan to restructure county government earlier today. At the center of the proposal is an insistence on new negotiations with the CWA.
Wow. New Jersey politicians who take their fiduciary duty to the taxpayers seriously. What a concept! Corzine should take notes...
THE PLAN
1. Conduct an Independent Operational Audit of County Government.
Garganio and O’Brien want an independent operational audit of county government. Every job, from the County Administrator to the part-time clerk typist, should be reviewed based on the individual merits of the employee and their function. Garganio and O’Brien believe county government can operate effectively with fewer employees than it currently has, but don’t trust the analysis done as part of the recent budget process due to the rash of flawed information being provided to them and the public during that process. The audit would also review every program and service provided by county government to determine which ones work and which ones don’t. The goal would be to identify and protect core services, while eliminating non-essential services.
“Across-the-board layoffs or cuts in services don’t make sense, and, at first glance, neither does having both a Treasurer and a CFO,” said Garganio. “Through a comprehensive review by a reputable, independent entity, we can shrink the size and cost of government on the merits, while protecting core services residents depend on.”
2. Make County Employees Pay for 20% of their Healthcare Costs.
Garganio and O’Brien said that providing healthcare for county employees will cost county property taxpayers $22 million in the budget approved yesterday. That cost has risen by roughly 30% in just three years, with even larger increases expected in the coming years. Garganio and O’Brien said that with private sector employees being forced to pick up more and more of the cost of their own health insurance, it is only fair for public employees to do the same. The current system in place at the county only requires employees to cover their own co-pays. They contribute nothing else.
“You will be hard-pressed to find private sector employees who contribute nothing to the cost of their healthcare benefits in today’s world,” said O’Brien. “Asking employees to pay 20% of their healthcare costs will be a major savings for property taxpayers, while bringing the public sector more in line with the stark economic realities that have been facing private sector employees for some time now.”
3. Freeze Wages for all Employees, Request they Give Back Holidays.
Garganio and O’Brien believe that next year’s FY2011 budget should freeze wages for all county employees, not just those making over $50,000 as was done in the current budget, and request that they give back three of their fourteen holidays. They believe that in times of great economic stress, everyone must share in the sacrifice.
“In this economy, there needs to be shared sacrifice,” said O’Brien. “Freezing wages for all employees and asking them to give-back a handful of holidays is more than fair.”
4. Request the CWA Returns to the Bargaining Table by July 15th.
Garganio and O’Brien believe the CWA should honor their public commitment, and other unions should join them, in returning to the bargaining table by July 15th, with everything on the table. Garganio and O’Brien would like to see a collective bargaining agreement that includes the same wage freezes, healthcare reforms, and holiday give-backs being requested of non-union employees.
“The CWA publicly pledged to Freeholder Director Donnelly that they would return to the bargaining table in good faith,” said Garganio, a union carpenter. “They should honor that commitment, and so should the other public employee unions, no later than July 15th. Furthermore, everything should be on the table – from wages to healthcare to holidays.”
You're right on. Every county should be doing the same. Great job!
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Who is out of touch? The average county worker gets paid $32,000 and can bearly life in Burl.County.What makes you think the workers can afford your typical republican idea !
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