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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 > 27 > Entry
Editorial: Don’t doubt it, government has changed forever
The recession that began in 2008 eventually will end. But an important question looms for local governments across the Dayton area:
What will the new reality look like?
If there’s one safe bet, it’s that this part of Ohio will emerge with permanent scars. Some of what’s been lost will not return. The smart move now is for local elected officials and government administrators to prepare for a very different future.
Patrick Titterington, service and safety director in Troy, said as much last week when he argued against that community using “gimmicks,” like furloughs and wage freezes, to avoid budget deficits. Instead, he said, Troy must look for systemic changes, reshape itself, get smaller.
This path is not optional. Some offices, jurisdictions and public employees have been better at recognizing this than others.
Last week, Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies showed good sense in accepting a one-year pay freeze that, however painful, at least will prevent more deputies being laid off. But if revenue is flat or falling going forward, this will not be the last time deputies will be asked to save the county money.
County leaders also must do their part by rigorously reviewing practices and labor contracts. They have to be able to defend all spending.
This also applies to the city of Dayton. City Manager Rashad Young is leaning hard on his biggest unions to agree to concessions — which include a pay freeze and dropping extra pay for some holidays — to close a $6 million deficit. He’s run into special problems with the police union and is threatening to lay off 11 officers.
City workers already have agreed to these changes, and firefighters, on Friday, voted to accept a similar pay freeze and suspension of extra pay for some holidays. But police officers are still holding out for a raise.
Mr. Young is not the bad guy. His responsibility is to scour the budget for ways to save. When he sits down with the unions to bargain for new contracts, in this climate, he’s obligated to propose cutbacks — while trying his best to protect services.
There are still too many perks in Dayton’s labor deals. It’s crazy, for instance, that the city is considering layoffs at the same time it is shelling out extra holiday pay to police officers who already were paid for a day off, and giving “overtime” to officers summoned to court during their work hours.
The firefighters’ contract gives them Good Friday off.
These sweet deals have to end.
Understand that the Dayton Fire Department’s vote on Friday merely gets it through today. A large number of firefighter retirements are coming in the next few years. That may be an opportunity to reduce the force less painfully than through layoffs. But, at the same time, a rapidly shrinking force could compromise service.
A thoughtful reorganization would make a big difference. What size department makes sense going forward? What firehouses and equipment should be in service and when? These hard questions must be confronted and answered.
The wrenching changes that governments have to go through aren’t just happening to public employees. Other workers are going through similar retrenchment. No one is being singled out.
Government leaders and unions can work together to decide how to get through this. Or they can go to war.
But if employees expect public support, they can’t choose war. And neither should their bosses.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Economy, Editorials, Montgomery County, Scott Elliott, Suburban Communities
Comments
By Alex
July 27, 2009 12:19 AM | Link to this
Water will emerge as the great regional equalaizer.By stop wasting my money
July 27, 2009 3:20 AM | Link to this
Since we’re looking into wasted money and things to cut back on, how many “city leaders” and their assistants get the free use of a car and gas? I hear it’s quite a few. Seems extravagant when they’re cutting back on essential services.By Rob
July 27, 2009 9:22 AM | Link to this
Well, one thing is for certain. There is no such thing as a contract when the government is involved.By bobby
July 27, 2009 2:07 PM | Link to this
Elected officials and government administrators should prepare for significantly reduced state spending two years from now. A democratic controlled Congress and Obamma second term will bring military budget cuts and probable reductions at WPAFB. Barney Frank stated,last fall, the military budget should be cut by 25%. Prudent leadership should plan for worst case scenarios.By DFD
July 27, 2009 3:38 PM | Link to this
“The firefighters’ contract gives them Good Friday off. These sweet deals have to end.” At least get your “facts” straight. Where most employees get the Easter holiday off, (or the Friday before or Monday after)the firefighters do not. Instead they receive Good Friday. Why? only heaven knows. So please don’t make it appear that this is somehow a “sweet deal”. In fact, the only sweet deal here is the DDN playing fast and loose with the facts as usual in order to malign a group that basically receives the same holidays as everyone else and not having to sign their name to it.By In the Know
July 28, 2009 10:52 AM | Link to this
Once again the Dayton Daily gets it wrong. Please check your facts before misleading the public. First of all, Firefighters don’t get Good Friday off, there are ALWAYS firefighters on duty in the City of Dayton. And the “Sweet Deal” printed here is hardly sweet. Firefighters in the City of Dayton are paid 9 hours of straight pay for each holiday in our contract whether they work them or not, while that may sound sweet it isn’t so. Firefighters work a 24 hours shift, if they were paid like most employees elsewhere they would receive atleast double time for working a holiday, and remember that would be for a 24 hour shift, not the normal 8. So who is really get the sweet deal….the Firefighters or the City?By William
July 29, 2009 5:31 PM | Link to this
Ohio’s unemployment laws are causing many to go crazy. But one man’s story in particular is driving me crazy. Okay, I know people are fed up to their ears in hearing hard luck stories, but this guy went through today is incredible. For the sake of protecting the innocent, let’s just change the names. We will call my friend Ron. Ron is a good guy who worked three years for a local company. He was let go in April. Ron was told his performance was sub-par, but he knew better. His immediate supervisor told him that the company needed to cut some folks and he was the beneficiary of the ax. So Ron applied for unemployment benefits and actually won the right to receive benefits. That is no small feat in today’s unemployment landscape. Ron thought he would receive roughly $350 per week, not much, but enough to survive while the job search continued. Ron collected $190 with his first check. He called the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and was told the check was accurate and he miscalculated. Defeated but still $190 richer than before, Ron soon got an email from ODJFS saying his company had appealed the decision and won. Ron would no longer get any benefits unless he appealed the appeal and won that. Sound somewhat ridiculous. Yes, but here’s the rub. ODJF informed Ron he would now have to pay back the money he had previously received for unemployment. Ron immediately appealed the appeal of his unemployment decision and was told he would have to participate in a phone hearing to determine if he could get his benefits back. That was in May, it is now the end of July and Ron’s hearing has not been scheduled yet. He checked his mail today and no word yet on a scheduled hearing. Ron was told that a letter will arrive two weeks before a scheduled hearing. Get my drift? Ron won’t see the light of day on a hearing until at least mid-August. Wait, there’s more. Ron was told that even if his former employer decided they no longer want to contest his unemployment claim, he still must wait for the hearing because the state must determine his fate officially. Ron frantically called various levels of the Unemployment Bureau and got a few different answers to his quandary. But the bottom line was, “just be patient because we are so backed up.” It is no wonder the backup exists since the red tape seems to be strangling the common sense out of ODJFS. What kind of organization bleeds a person to death while he waits his appeal and then demands he repay his benefits in the interim? If this is the way the Ohio government is run, then it is time to find new people to run it. In the meantime, Ron just sits and watches his overdrawn bank account grow deeper and his child grow more resentful. He applies for at least 15 to 20 jobs a week and is so accustomed to being told he is either over qualified or in the running, or no thanks, that he finishes the sentence before his interviewer can get the words out. I feel for Ron and I hope he wins his case. Nobody should be made to suffer a slow death by red tape strangulation the way this guy has. Ron has a BA degree from a good college and tremendous work experience. Somehow that has got to account for $190 a week when you need it.By rocker
July 30, 2009 12:02 AM | Link to this
You are truly CLUELESS. No police officer gets paid OT to attend court unless it is outside their work hours or their days off. At least in Dayton…By RAW
July 30, 2009 1:40 PM | Link to this
Why is it when the government looks to cut costs, the public safety and maintenance services are always the first places officials look. Is is because they know that they can use the media to turn public sentiment against employees in these divisions because they perform a critical service the public needs? I think we all know the aswer to that question. The Lap-dog media plays right into the battle immediately siding with those that would use the police and fire departments services as a bargaining chip. Instead why do they not look into the adminstrative costs, the car allownaces, gas allownaces, their own salaries, and redudant personnel among the departments. Because they know that they cannot win that fight because thes are not necessary services for the most part. Of course that raises the question, if those other services are not crucial to operations, why do they exist in the first place other than to provide jobs to those who otherwise would not be working elsewhere?