Aldermen unanimously passed a $333.8 million budget for fiscal 2010, which included raises for non-union city employees, but no cost-of-living increase for union workers.
Aldermen voted down a proposal, last week, that would freeze step increases for non-union city workers and a second proposal freezing salaries of those earning more than $70,000 annually. The proposal would have trimmed about $78,000 from this year's budget.
Mayor David Cohen's budget proposed step raises of up to 2 percent for "H grade" employees, who include department heads, legal employees and some secretaries. H grades are not unionized and those raises are not contractually obligated, but the mayor argued that they were necessary for fairness' sake.
True to his word, Cohen delivered a budget that included no cost-of-living raises, which have ranged from 9 percent in 2004 to .2 percent in 2007. Earlier in the budget process, Cohen said the raise freeze was necessary to keep the city's budget balanced.
Before the board voted Monday night, Alderman Ken Parker, who is also running for mayor, said passing the budget could mean trouble down the road.
"We do not have an agreement from a single union that we will not have a cost-of-living increase," he said. "I think the linchpin of this budget and whether Newton is a fiscally healthy city or not depends on this administration or the next administration to secure those agreements."
Cheryl Turgel, president of the Newton Teachers Association, said negotiations would continue with teachers even though they know the money is not there for raises.
"We're still trying to negotiate something, but we don't know what that will be," Turgel said. "We're not happy that that's what's put on the table, but we're all cognizant of the times we're living in."
Since 1997, Newton's firefighters have had one signed contract. The union's priority now is getting a contract before looking toward next year's negotiations, said union head Tom Lopez.
"It's going to be hard to negotiate if you don't have a firm base," he said, adding that if the union members do get a contract, they will be open to negotiations.
"We'll be happy to sit down with this mayor or the future mayor and start working toward the future," Lopez said.
Approval of the budget this week stood in stark contrast to the contentious process last year, when the mayor's spending plan became official without a board vote.
Four alderman, led by Finance Committee Chairman Paul Coletti, exercised a procedural maneuver during last year's meeting known as a "budget charter" when it became clear that the majority of members planned to vote down Cohen's budget.
Ted Hess-Mahan, one of the aldermen who voted for the charter last year, said this year was comparatively uneventful.
"I think everyone recognized we don't have a whole lot of flexibility," Hess-Mahan said. "With looming additional cuts in local aid and aid for schools ... we're all waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Parker had proposed freezing wages for all H grade employees, but filed a second resolution at Thursday's meeting after the original proposal was voted down. While some H grade workers earn more than $100,000 a year, secretaries and others can earn under $50,000. Parker said he did not want to deny raises to the lower-paid employees.
School department heads did not get raises in this year's budget, Parker noted, and limiting city department head increases would also be fair. He also said Cohen's proposed salary increases could have a deleterious effect on union negotiations, as many union employees will not get step raises this year.
But while several aldermen said they appreciated Parker's intent Thursday, they decried his methods. Alderman Marcia Johnson called the proposal "discriminatory."
"This is absolutely terrible policy for Newton," Alderman Verne Vance said. "The message goes out to potential hirees that this city reneges on its commitments for a few thousand dollars."
Alderman Bill Brandel called talk of discrimination "inflammatory," and although he said it was late in the game to rewrite the city's compensation policy, wound up supporting Parker's proposal. Alderman Greer Tan Swiston also supported the plan and said its structure made sense.
"This is not arbitrary at all; it's quite rational," Swiston said.
The proposal failed by a vote of, 12-5, with seven absent. Aldermen George Mansfield and Brian Yates were the other dissenting votes.
Aldermen slash $154,000 from mayor's office
Mayor David Cohen wanted to start the ball rolling on using statistics to better manage the city, but he and the Board of Aldermen have agreed to leave that job for the next mayor.
Based on the recommendation of the Citizen Advisory Group, Cohen added a performance analyst and a budget analyst to the mayor's office in this year's budget. But last week aldermen voted to remove the funding for the positions, about $154,000, and asked Cohen to place it in wage reserve. Cohen said that he had talked with CAG leaders and would follow that request.
"My purpose in putting those positions in the budget was to show commitment to moving forward on CAG recommendations," Cohen said. "The board action is committing that as well, so I will go along with the recommendation."
Alderman Ken Parker, who also running for mayor, originally proposed cutting half of the positions' salaries and benefits. But Alderman Lenny Gentile said the next mayor should have to make the case for hiring any new positions, and he condemned adding two positions to the mayor's office when other city workers would not get salary increases.
"The one department we find to add positions to is the mayor's office," Gentile said. "Two bureaucrats! Two bureaucrats! Nothing more!"
Parker's proposal was amended to cut funding for the positions entirely and passed 13 to 11. The money will go in the city's wage reserve fund.
