Perks and bonuses pump up costs for public personnel rolls

A police union says it would rather see layoffs than compensation cuts.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Public employees receive what amounts to thousands of additional taxpayer dollars each year for a variety of reasons, from buying work clothes to just doing their everyday jobs.
A review by The Vindicator of numerous public-employee contracts in the Mahoning Valley shows that workers receive bonus money for such things as holding college degrees, not calling in sick, being employed for a number of years, staying physically fit and having safe driving records.
It's not just happening in the Valley's wealthier communities. Employees in cities such as Youngstown and Warren, which have faced financial troubles in recent years, are also getting the perks.
Add to the mix overtime, vacation pay, accumulated time, and buyouts for employees when they leave their public-sector jobs, and it's understandable that some communities are struggling with their finances, said Jane Beckett-Camarata, an assistant professor of public finance at Kent State University.
Difficult position
Employee contracts, which make up between 70 percent and 85 percent of a municipality's budget, "wreak havoc" with a community's financial picture, she said.
"In most cases, the union has a city over a barrel, so to speak," said Beckett-Camarata, a member of the American Society for Public Administration's national council and the former chief financial officer for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation from 1991 to 1996.
"You don't have a whole lot of leverage," she added. "You can't say that you'll get rid of these employees and get cheaper employees. You're stuck with what you have."
If a union received the same benefits during several previous contracts, even if paying for them is now a hardship for a city, it is extremely difficult to eliminate them, Beckett-Camarata said.
"An expectation is built up, and once it's there, it's almost like people feel they're entitled to it," she said.
Jobs vs. concessions
Kevin Powers, in-house legal counsel for the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said the largest police union in the state would rather see officers lose their jobs than accept contract concessions.
"We're generally not interested in making wage concessions to keep more people working because we know layoffs are temporary things, where usually any concession you make is viewed as a permanent thing," he said. "When we negotiate any new benefits, we assume it will be there forever and ever. ... We never go to the bargaining table looking to make concessions or givebacks."
John McNally IV, Youngstown law director and the city's chief union negotiator, said it's exceptionally difficult to remove bonus pay and perks from contracts because unions cite past practice and point to union pacts in similar-sized cities as reasons to keep those provisions in their deals.
"It's not like we get to write the darn thing," Powers countered. "The employer agrees to them. They have a hand in what goes in there."
But when city officials seek to remove those provisions, a fact finder or arbitrator will typically rule in favor of the union because of past practice, McNally said.
Youngstown couldn't meet its contractual obligation last year and reduced its work force by about 100 employees through buyouts and layoffs, McNally said. It would have been even more if a 0.5 percent income tax increase hadn't passed in November to raise $7.2 million annually for the financially ailing city.
Statewide situation
"There have been attempts to get rid of some perks, but if I went into negotiations to remove hazardous-duty pay, the union would never go for it and a fact finder will not go for it because it's a statewide benefit," McNally said.
The hazardous-duty pay provision calls for police officers to get an annual payment above their base pay -- $568.58 in Youngstown and $400.14 in Warren, for example -- because there are hazards involved with their jobs.
McNally said other unions have unsuccessfully attempted to get hazardous-duty pay. The only nonpolice union to get the pay in the city is the firefighters' union, with each member getting $563.51 this year.
Hidden benefits
Contract perks that go largely unnoticed can enable city officials to hide the real cost of a union deal from citizens, Beckett-Camarata said.
Perks unique to certain unions are usually included in contracts as "a way for politicians to give additional money where they think it's justified without having other unions clamoring for the same thing," Powers said.
The perks can really add up.
Warren police officers received a 4 percent pay raise this year, but when perks and payouts are added in, that figure significantly increases.
Warren officers get 12 percent more than their base salaries for having 10 years of experience and a bachelor's degree. It's 14.5 percent for those working the midnight shift with the same years of experience and a degree.
Youngstown patrol officers received pay raises this year ranging from 5.5 percent for those with 4 or more years on the force to 6.1 percent for new hires.
But a Youngstown officer receives an additional 6.5 percent in pay for having 10 years of service, a bachelor's degree, and for obtaining three of the four no-sick-day incentives in a year (officers get bonuses every three months if they don't take a sick day). It's about 9 percent for those on the midnight shift who meet those same requirements.
Other unions
This isn't just happening in the Valley's largest cities, and not just with police unions.
Struthers firefighters received a 3 percent raise this year compared to last year. But there are a number of annual add-ons that increase that amount, including a $500 uniform allowance, $400 for exposure pay -- similar to hazardous-duty pay -- and longevity pay that ranges from $165 after six years with the department to $561 after 18 years with the department. Also, firefighters who work on holidays are paid 2.25 times their salary.
Annual clothing and uniform allowances are quite common for Valley firefighters and police officers. Youngstown firefighters get $865.28; Austintown police officers, $600; Poland police officers, $750; and Boardman firefighters, $475.
But it's also not unusual for nonsafety workers in the public sector to get annual clothing allowances. For example, Boardman Road Department workers get $475, and Canfield street workers, $250.
Even members of the Teamsters Local No. 377, which represents clerical workers in Austintown -- a township that had to lay off workers and wants to raise taxes because of its financial problems -- have a $500 clothing allowance in their contracts.
Longevity pay, money given for years of service, is also common in public-employee union contracts, as are payouts for not taking sick days.
Additional perks
Some communities pay employees for obtaining college degrees.
Other unique local perks include:
UEach Warren police officer is entitled to 15 minutes of overtime pay, about $7.50, before the start of each shift for roll call.
UYoungstown pays a portion of a police officer's or firefighter's membership at the Youngstown YMCA to help them be physically fit.
UPoland police officers are rewarded with $100 payments for maintaining a safe driving record.
It's typical for workers to get Christmas, Thanksgiving and Labor Day as paid holidays. Most public employees get 10 to 12 paid holidays a year.
The employee contract for Warren's 42 police officers calls for them to get May 15 as a paid "holiday" for Police Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor fallen officers, along with 10 more traditional holidays.
Warren police officers on duty on Police Memorial Day are paid eight hours of holiday pay as well as time-and-a-half for the hours they work. That's $401.80 for most Warren officers if they work that day.
The contract also calls for Warren officers to receive four hours of overtime pay for Election Day.
The 150 patrol officers in Youngstown get their birthdays off as a paid day. That's a $172.68 present from the city to officers with at least four years of experience; an annual expense to the city of more than $25,000. Youngstown officers also get 10 paid holidays.
skolnick@vindy.com