Borough workers bring cost-cutting ideas to council

Monday, December 8, 2008 7:44 AM EST

POTTSTOWN — With the clock ticking and borough council yet to make any of the wrenching budget decisions placed before its members by the administration, the president of the workers union stood up Wednesday to argue that some methods of saving money were being ignored by management.Karen Lewandowski, who heads the local chapter of the American Federation of Federal State and County Employees, provided information to council including a way in which more than $300,000 could be added to the coffers every year.Before she could provide that information, Councilman Mark Gibson had to buck Borough Council President David Garner's refusal to let her speak and force a motion to suspend the rules of the work session during which council normally does not take outside comments.Garner, was joined by Council Vice President Greg Berry and Councilman Stephen Toroney in voting against Gibson's motion.

Once allowed to the microphone, Lewandowski informed council that currently several companies that empty septic tanks and bring the contents to the sewage treatment plant for disposal, are behind in paying the fees they are charged.Last month, wastewater treatment plant superintendent Brent Wagner told the borough authority that four of those companies account for $174,000 that are overdue by more than 150 days and said he had put them on a payment plan.Lewandowski said, these companies are not charged the 10 percent interest fee that residential water customers who are late with their bills are charged.She said overall, the amount of fees past due for septic disposal are $250,171.52 and that charging 10 percent interest on those and other overdue bills could accumulate as much as $300,852 in additional revenue.That measure alone would cut nearly in half the $692,357 budget gap that stands in the current proposed 2009 budget, a gap that will require an 10.95 percent tax hike to close, even if council moves ahead with the drastic measures proposed, including eliminating five management and eight union positions and cutting contributions to the borough's four fire companies by 25 percent.Assistant Borough Manager Jason Bobst said without making the changes recommended by the administration, property taxes would have to be raised by 27 to 30 percent to close the budget gap.Bobst who, along with consultant Timothea Kirchner put together the current budget proposal, asked for permission to respond to Lewandowski's comments, but Garner said tonight's council meeting would be the proper venue.Lewandowski, whose union does not include the 43 members of the police union, also presented information indicating that the borough's higher-paid managers annually clock more overtime pay than the union workers.Since the managers are higher paid, this practice costs taxpayers more money, particularly when — as has happened numerous times in the past — the union files grievances over the way this violates the contract. Typically, the borough ends up settling these grievances by having to also pay overtime to the union workers who, under the contract, should have been called in, even though they didn't do any work.Because personnel matters are not public, Borough Manager Ray Lopez has in the past declined to indicate whether any of the managers who are allowing this practice to occur has been disciplined.Lewandowski's analysis of 2008 showed managers in the water department logging twice the over time of union workers — 211.75 hours; sewer department managers logging one and a half times more overtime than union workers and streets department managers logging one and half times more overtime than union workers.Her information packet included a salary list showing that the union's 65 full-time workers and five part-time workers cost taxpayers $2.7 million, with the average salary at $39,016.The highest paid AFSCME union workers on the list, code enforcement officer Dave Borzick, earned $47,382.40 in 2008.Her information also included a list of the borough's 26 managers (not including the police department), who cost taxpayers $1.6 million and earn an average of $61,872.Lopez is the highest-paid of these managers, expected to earn $93,712.50 in 2008.Lopez addressed a figure used during the Nov. 24 budget meeting when Lewandowski said with the lay-offs, the borough would have a manager-to-worker ratio of 2 to 1.Lopez, exempting four employees who are not in the union but are not supervisors, also included the summer workers hired in the summer and the borough's crossing guards in making his calculation and said when those employees are included, the ratio stands at one manager for every six workers."But we don't look at it that way, we look at it as a team," Lopez said.Gibson and Councilman Mike Wenzel were not buying what Lopez was selling."How can you look at it that way?" Gibson said angrily. "We're cutting full-time people and you want to count the seasonal workers who are here for two or three months?""I don't see how you can include the summer help and the crossing guards," seconded Wenzel.Whether the information Lewandowski provided will be taken into account by council members when making their decisions may not be known until tonight, when Garner promised Bobst and Kirchner that council would vote on a number their recommendations.The administration has already begun meeting with the workers who may be laid off in order to ensure that should that final decision be made, they will not appear on the 2009 payroll.One of those recommendations is the elimination of the Economic Development Director position, currently held by Terri Lampe. Wednesday night, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center CEO Steven MacLauchlan and Tim Phelps, executive director of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, said they would like to talk to the borough about coming up with a partnership that could ensure those functions continue. Both are members of the borough's economic advisory committee and spoke as such.On the subject of funding to the fire companies, Fire Chief Richard Lengel had made several proposals, including having firemen charge for the fire safety inspections they now conduct for free, as a way to prevent the 25 percent funding cut.Bobst said a 2.5 to 3 percent tax hike would be required to make up that funding cut, to which Mayor Sharon Valentine-Thomas responded "I'm advocating for that."Council set Monday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. for its annual adjournment meeting, making it the last day the budget can legally be adopted.The next meeting at which the budget will be discussed is tonight at 7 p.m. on the third floor of borough hall. It is the meeting at which the public is permitted to speak.

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