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Bolton Point General Manager Paul Tunison asked the Lansing Town Board to approve a contract with 11 union water commission employees.  This led to a long discussion about the details of the contract and whether it is fair to taxpayers as well as employees.  Lansing Town Supervisor Scott Pinney argued that the contract is too generous, especially in light of the fact that Lansing employees did not get a raise this year.  Others on the counsel also weighed in, but Tunison defended the contract as fair to the hard working water commission employees.

"The employees deserve it," Tunison said.  "I think it's very fair to the employees and very fair to the commission."

The commission has 19 employees, 11 of which are union members since 2001.  Those employees' contract expired at the end of 2010.  Negotiations began in December, and after several sessions the two sides came to an impasse that required a mediator to resolve.

Tunison said the most controversial item in the contract is wages.  Initially union representatives proposed a 4% rise per year over the course of a three year contact.  In mediation the two sides agreed to a 1.5% increase in 2011, 1.75% in 2012, and 2% in 2013 and 2014.  Benefits were kept the same.  The commission pays 100% of health insurance premiums.  A complicated formula for paying employees to be on call was increased.

The water commission is comprised of five municipalities.  All five must agree to new contracts and other items such as rate hikes in order to pass them.  If one municipality says no, it's back to the drawing board.  Initially a 17% increase in 2011 water rates was nixed by Lansing board members, but they agreed to approve it after being pressured by other municipalities and with the threat of losing money because water payments were coming due.

"I know there's a great deal of controversy over this in Lansing," said Deputy Supervisor Connie Wilcox, who is also Bolton Point Personnel Committee.  "I feel with the time and effort that was put into the mediation of this contract, it should be passed.  I realize that (Town of Lansing) employees did not get a raise this year, but we also funded their health care 100%.  We can vote this contract down,  but I don't know where it's going to get us.  I support this contract."

But Pinney said the contract is an example of government out of control.

"It's a very tough situation for everybody," Pinney said.  "One of the problems with government now is that it seems like the costs go up and up and up, and there's no stopping it.  You hear at some of these meetings, 'Well these are all fixed costs.  We can't help but raise these taxes.  As we all know the water rate went up 17% in 2011.  I think there is a high probability that it will go up in double digits next year again.  If we pass this contract we have fixed costs for these employees for four years."

Pinney was initially on the negotiations committee, but was not on the committee beyond the first meeting.  He said he expressed his concerns in and before that meeting. 

"We've done two contracts in two years," he said.  "They were tough negotiations, but benefits were cut and raises stayed at zero percent.  So they really worked with us and we got a contract in place."

Pinney said pension costs are a big problem for government today.  He said it is a problem that people whose pensions go down with the stock market have to pay more to fund rising pensions of government workers.  He noted that Bolton Point's pension costs increased 69% from 2010 to 2011.  He said state projections show this trend will remain true for another half dozen years.  He said that pension costs are tied to wages, so as you raise wages you raise pension costs.

"In the last three years Town employees got 2%, then 2% and now 0%," Pinney said.  "If you average the wages at Bolton Point they got 4% per year.  I feel (it's wrong) to tie this in for four years when we can't do anything about those costs."

Councilman Marty Christopher said he had a few items he is opposed to, including the wage increase, saying he wouldn't have opposed it if town employees were getting a raise this year, or if proposed wage increases started at 0% and went up over the following three years.  He also said that 'on call' compensation should only be for times when employees are actually called.

Councilwoman Kathy Miller pointed out that Cornell employees have to pay more and more, including contributing to their health insurance premiums, and questioned paying 100% for Bolton Point employees.

"Everybody has taken a big bite over the last couple of years," said resident and business owner Dan Pace.  "In the private sector I pay my own health care.  If I was to get a health insurance policy like Bolton Point employees and school teachers are getting it would be $18,500 for me and $18,500 for my wife.  You'd be looking at almost $40,000 for me to have the same health insurance that public employees have."

He advocated yearly contracts to keep Bolton Point from getting locked into fixed costs and benefits from year to year, and said he is upset with the water rate increase.

"It's not that we don't have good employees who work really hard at Bolton Point," Pinney said.  "Our town employees work really hard.  When I negotiated with our town employees and we discussed all the impacts we have on the community and that we were looking at a zero percent raise.

Ultimately the board voted 3-1 to approve the contract, with Pinney voting no.

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