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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > July > 13
Monday, July 13, 2009
Editorial: Police should give up on cushy deals
Dayton’s police union is playing a dangerous game of chicken that could result in 11 officers being laid off Aug. 3.
That cannot happen. Reducing the force by that many officers is irresponsible when there are other sensible ways to cut costs. But the union could force the city’s hand by continuing to demand a raise and reject furlough days that others have already given up. In an effort to close a $6 million budget deficit, Dayton has made a reasonable proposal to all four of its labor unions — forgo a raise this year and agree to four furlough days to avoid layoffs.
The city’s service workers have already accepted the deal, and the city has imposed it on managers and non union workers. But the police are holding out, saying the city owes them more.
The union wants to keep the 3 percent raise it negotiated, but it has made concessions — it was willing to take 1 percent this year. The city says police have to take a wage freeze like everybody else. The dispute is headed for binding arbitration.
City Manager Rashad Young said the union’s ideas for how he can give a pay raise to police and avoid layoffs at the same time are not workable. The suggestions that he use money from the city’s reserve fund, or borrow against it, only puts off the problem. A loan would have to be paid back, and the reserve isn’t a piggybank to use for routine operating expenses.
Though the $20 million reserve may look inviting, in truth it is barely adequate for a city Dayton’s size. Generally, bond rating companies expect cities to keep the equivalent of six to 10 weeks of expenses in a cash reserve or they will pay a penalty when borrowing. Dayton’s reserve would cover just slightly more than six weeks, city officials said.
Police union President Randy Beane has repeatedly objected to cutting spending by taking officers off the street. In fact, one complaint about Mr. Young’s proposed furloughs is that they would reduce manpower to a troubling degree. If that’s a serious worry, then the union must help work to avoid it. And there are other options.
Amazingly, Dayton police officers have a tremendous sweetheart deal when it comes to their 12 paid holidays. In many jobs, being assigned to work on a holiday means premium pay. But for Dayton police, premium pay means officers are paid for 48 hours of work during a holiday week instead of 40, whether they work on the holiday or not.
Moreover, Mr. Young says giving up this perk on just five of the 12 days would net the same savings as the four days off without pay.
It’s hard to imagine how this arrangement ever made sense, but it certainly doesn’t in today’s fiscal environment. (Ending it shouldn’t be just for this year.)
Agreeing only to this give-back would still require police to accept the same pay freeze as everyone else, but it would keep more officers on the street. It’s a no-brainer.
The police union cannot stick to a position that demands a raise even if other officers are laid off and even though other workers accepted the freeze. It can’t demand the city raid its reserve fund. It can’t reject furloughs while clinging to premium pay on holidays for everyone.
Mr. Beane and his union need to get serious.
Permalink | Comments (28) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Editorials, Law Enforcement and Public Safety, Scott Elliott
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