Citizens interested in City Council Citizens interested in City Council
Renegotiating City Contracts Follow-up 27 Jun 11 / 30 Oct 11
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Directly below is part of the running notes I had on the front page of my website. I pulled them out into a separate article because of the Firefighters Union's endorsement letter I received in the mail last night.
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27 Jun Post meeting update: I spoke twice during the council meeting tonight. Once concerning the Union contracts. I haven’t looked at the recording yet but I suspect I rambled on and perhaps didn’t talk in complete sentences. When the council passed the resolution allowing the city manager to open contract negotiations with the union he was instructed to do this only if it benefited the city. Tonight I asked council (or at least meant to ask council) to tell us how (well) these contracts fulfilled that duty. From their conversation it appears they believe the greatest benefit is because it limits the uncertainty that is bound to happen because of SB5. Also, mentioned was the employees agreed to a 0% change in wages for at least two of the contract years. At the end of the meeting Ms Kalebs said one thing I intended to say and this lifted my opinion of the entire meeting. She said that she had the impression that SB5 was a way to limit local governments options. Like I said I it made me happy to hear her express that opinion during the meeting. What would have made this absolutely perfect is if council had city staff prepare a paper comparing these contracts with what kind of contract would be expected if SB5 were in effect.
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30 Oct addition: Here is the link to the video of that council meeting. The discussion starts at minute 36:28 of the video. You can also find the resolutions and contracts on the city's website starting at agenda item C.
My comments at the 27 Jun meeting make more sense in the context of my concerns expressed on 25 April 11 when council decided to renegotiate.
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