Mayor Louras, Unions shrug off budget threat

By Brent Curtis
Staff Writer - Published: October 6, 2010


Neither Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras nor representatives from the city's unions expressed much concern Tuesday about an aldermanic threat to ax any salary increases in the coming year's budget.

The aldermen voted 7 to 2 Monday to cut salary line items that contain increases over this year's funding level.

“Last year, we talked a great line when it came to holding the line on the budget,” Alderman David Dress said, while making the motion to level-spend. “We need to send a message clearly to the mayor to don't even put salary increases in the budget.”

The bold yet nonbinding vote followed more than an hour of complaints directed at the aldermen by city residents and taxpayers upset by the recent 10 percent increase in city utility rates.

But Mayor Christopher Louras said Tuesday the board's warning wouldn't affect the way he prepares the budget he will present next month.

“I give no great import to their motion because it's what I've done before,” he said. “I will submit a budget that's fair and appropriate regardless of what the board says.”

Louras said four of his five past budgets have contained just what the aldermen want – level funding on salary line items for department heads and nonunion employees.

Of course, that leaves the vast number of city employees, whose pay is set forth in multiyear union contracts, unaccounted for.

But last year, only the city firefighters received raises under their contracts and in the budget the aldermen are demanding flat salary line items from there are no salary increases.

That's because the contracts for the city's three unions are each in flux. The police contract, which ended last year, is in mediation. The Public Works and clerical workers union contract has expired and the bargaining unit is negotiating a new contract and the firefighters union contract expires at the end of this fiscal year.

That means that the aldermen's budget-cut threat could have an impact at the negotiating table.
Jim Miles, steward of the city's firefighter union, said he questions the aldermen's motives.

“I'd say it's borderline unfair labor practice and I've asked our union representative to look into it,” Miles said.

Instead of a heavy-handed threat, Miles said aldermen would be better served talking to the unions about going without pay increases.

“Anything's on the table,” he said. “I know where they're coming from but this is not the way to go.”

The regional coordinator for the union representing the city police and DPW workers said it's not what the aldermen say it's what they do that matters.

“I think it's saber-rattling at this point,” said George Lovell, regional coordinator for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “It's how we're dealt with at the table as a whole that will tell us whether they're violating the law.”

Like Miles, Lovell said the aldermen would be better off trying to work with the unions.

AFSCME works with 47 state, county or municipal bargaining groups in the state – a number of which have reached contract agreements that include going without salary increases in the midst of economic hard times.

Louras said he had also arranged to meet today with the city unions to talk about a contractual change that could save the city significant amounts of money on its health care expenses.

“I'm making the proposal to all three unions to consider a less rich health care proposal,” the mayor said.
Louras declined to talk specifics about the change, which would mean switching health care providers.

He also wouldn't say how much money the change would save.

But he said that the aldermen's focus on employee salaries missed the big budget picture.

“It's myopic to look at the 2012 budget by focusing on salaries,” he said. “If (the unions) agree to this, it could reflect a willingness to help ease the taxpayer's burden.”

brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com