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As one of the few individuals who have experienced the dysfunctional relationship between city leaders and the school department while serving on both the school committee from 2003 - 2006 and the city council, from 2007 - 2008, I recognized this problem and proposed a common sense solution that would require leaders from the city and schools to meet to develop a long term coordinated strategic plan to fund schools and agree upon negotiating parameters with all bargaining units that were affordable to the tax payers and sustainable.

Sadly the resolution was ignored and the same old figure pointing and scapegoating by city leadership has continued for a decade plus..

I have sent an email of this resolution to Mayor Solomon, the entire city council, the school committee and the superintendent urging them to simply change that date and resubmit the resolution, as the language from that 11 year old resolution is as germane to today’s issues as it was in 2008 and this formal process is needed now more than ever.

I also emailed Councilman Sinapi suggesting rather than continue to divide the two bodies, he act as a statesman, at the next June council meeting and withdraw his hypercritical resolution and substitute this one in its place.

Here is the word for word resolution and the press release I wrote justifying it.

RESOLUTION REQUESTING AN EXECUTIVE LEVEL SUMMIT WITH THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGARDING FUTURE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

RESOLVED, that

WHEREAS, due to an anticipated reduction in state aid to cites and towns in the coming fiscal year and beyond, state mandated caps on tax levy increases, an overall downturn in the economy resulting in reduced revenues to local governments including the City of Warwick and other factors beyond the City’s control, future budgets on both the municipal and school sides will be strained to levels unseen in recent years; and

WHEREAS, in order to mitigate the negative impact on the taxpayers of the City of Warwick, while maintaining the current level of city and school services and avoiding layoffs, as well as to keep pace with necessary capital improvements, the City Council believes that the School Committee, City Council and the Mayor should initiate an executive level summit to coordinate and develop a long-term plan as a framework for the Mayor and Administration to meet the demands of all future labor agreements on the municipal side and for the School Committee to meet those same demands on the school side of the budget, including discussion of parameters relative to cost-of-living increases, health care co-pays and other salary and benefit issues; and

WHEREAS, the City Council believes that a coordinated effort to develop citywide policies governing labor contracts, all of which are due to expire in 2009, is in the best interest of the City of Warwick and its municipal departments and employees, the School Department and its employees, and Warwick taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, this is a matter of importance to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Warwick.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council hereby requests that an executive level summit be initiated involving the Mayor, the City Council and the School Committee to coordinate and develop a framework for a long-term plan to meet the demands of all future labor agreements on both the municipal side and the school side of the budget, including discussion of parameters relative to cost-of-living increases, health care co-pays and other salary and benefit issues, while maintaining the current level of city and school services to the extent possible as well as the continuation of necessary capital improvements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the summit should be:

1) Mayor or his or her designee,

2) Finance Director of the City of Warwick or his or her designee,

3) Personnel Director of the City of Warwick or his or her designee,

4) Chairperson of the Warwick School Committee or his or her designee

5) Superintendent of the Warwick School Department or his or her designee,

6) Director of Business Affairs of the Warwick School Department or his or her designee,

7) Director of Human Resources of the Warwick School Department or his or her designee

8) Warwick City Council President or his or her designee, and

9) Chairperson of the City Council Finance Committee or his or her designee.

The School Committee Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this Resolution to the Mayor, to the Chairman of the Warwick School Committee, and to the Superintendent of the Warwick School Department.

This Resolution shall take effect upon passage.

SPONSORED BY: COUNCILMAN CUSHMAN

COMMITTEE: INTERGOVERNMENTAL

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact: Bob Cushman

CUSHMAN PROPOSES MUNICIPAL SUMMIT ON FUTURE OF ALL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS IN CITY

With city’s labor contracts due to expire in 2009, City Councilman introduces resolution to develop coordinated approach to negotiating new deals and cutting costs for taxpayers

(Warwick, March 4, 2008) The contracts for Warwick police officers, fire fighters, municipal employees and teachers all set to expire in 2009. While some look at that with trepidation, City Councilman Bob Cushman believes the timing presents city officials with an opportunity to develop a unified, comprehensive approach to negotiating new deals with the city’s union—deals which recognize the need to reign in the spiraling costs of public employee health care and benefits.

Cushman will introduce a resolution next week to convene an executive level summit between the Mayor, City Council and School Department to begin the work of developing a long-term, strategic approach to negotiating all city contracts. In past years, contract negotiations have been a haphazard affair, moving from one union contract to another with no attempt to have a coordinated policy or a uniform set of expectations when crafting these agreements.

Cushman added, “With all of the city’s contracts coming to an end in 2009, we need to have a clear game plan going into those negotiations along with a shared commitment to reduce costs and eliminate the give-a-ways that our taxpayers can no longer afford.”

The resolution calls for a summit between key city officials “to coordinate and develop a framework for a long-term plan to meet the demands of all future labor agreements on both the municipal side and the school side of the budget, including discussion of parameters relative to cost-of-living increases, health care co-pays and other salary and benefit issues”. Participants in the summit would be the Mayor, City Finance Director, City Personnel Director, Chair of the Warwick School Committee, Superintendent of the Warwick School Department, Director of Business Affairs for the School Department, Director of Human Resources for the School Department, the City Council President, and the Chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee.

Cushman said such a summit and a strategic approach to contract negotiations is necessary to protect the interests of taxpayers, while maintaining current levels of city and school services and avoiding layoffs.

“The city is facing enormous financial strains because of the state budget crisis, the exploding costs of public employee health and benefits packages, and a series of decisions in the city over the last few years to put off paying its bills in a timely way,” said Cushman. “The business as usual approach to contract negotiations has to change. We need to bring all city officials together and develop a plan for what constitutes a realistic, fair and affordable contract for city employees.”

Cushman concluded, “If we don’t have that conversation, we are going to be stuck with another set of contracts our taxpayers can’t afford and legacy costs which could bankrupt our city. The Mayor himself stated in June, 2006 that ‘retiree benefits [are] the big issues of the future’. Well the future is now and this is our best bet for dealing with this issue in a sensible way.”

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