September, 2009
Citizen Empowerment and the Right to Get Rid of Local Governments
Submitted by joyce.mitchell1 on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 1:11pm
Citizen Empowerment and the Right to Get Rid of Local Governments
New York Senate Bill 5661, proposes to enact the New York government reorganization and citizen empowerment act as it relates to consolidation and dissolution of local governments.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins and co-sponsored by Senators Elizabeth O'C. Little, John Bonacic, John DeFrancisco, Pedro Espada, Brian Foley, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Jeffrey Klein, Liz Krueger, Roy McDonald, Velmanette Montgomery, Frank Padavan, Bill Perkins, John L.
Sampson, William Stachowski, David Valesky and John Bonacic.
The bill successfully passed in the Assembly on June 1, 2009 and in the Senate on June 3, 2009. On July 10, 2009 Gov. David Paterson signed the bill into law.[1] According to the new law, 10 percent of registered voters or 5,000 registered voters of a town can submit a petition to dissolve the local government. A referendum would be held in which a simple majority in favor of petition would dissolve the government. The issue can also be raised at the county level.
New York Assembly Bill 8501 (2009)affirms the same legislation.
Unless Changes are Made NY State Pension Costs Will Continue to Soar
Submitted by JDKJJK on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 2:48pm
According to the Journal News, New York State Comptroller, Thomas Dinapoli, plans to announce that huge Pension shortfalls await local budgets in the near future and Local contributions to the Pension fund will increase 50% by 2011.
Pension costs have always been the elephant in the room and we can thank our elected officials for some of these problems. One would think that after years of reading about the pension and benefit problems of the domestic automobile manufacturers our elected officials would have exercised some degree of fiscal restraint even in the best of times.
However, they did not, and the sad fact is that the United Automobile Workers Pension and Benefit package pales in comparison to the Pensions and Benefit packages of many New York State and Local employees. In addition, the automobile manufacturers, through bankruptcy, can shed the cost of their pension obligations and pass them along to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation[1]. New York State does not have this option; the increased costs will be passed along to the taxpayer.
During the fiscal crisis of the 1970’s the State took measures to rein in the cost of pension benefits. One of these measures resulted in the creation of the Tier III Pension Plan. The Tier III Pension Benefit Plan was a good place to start since one of the provisions called for the reduction in State pension obligations of up to 50% of an individuals Social Security annuity. The plan was set up in such a manner that the 50% reduction only applied to social security earnings while in the State’s employ.
However, Union Greed and our Elected Officials’ penchant for buying votes by rewarding municipal employees during the good times, without any consideration for future shortfalls, allowed for the introduction of the Tier IV Pension Plan. The Tier Four plan essentially eliminated any of the savings gained through the implementation of the Tier III Pension Plan. In addition, Teacher's covered under Tier III-Pension Plan can opt for the Tier IV Plan.
However, the problems caused by the Teachers pension benefit plans pale in comparison to the pension benefit plans for Police and Firefighters. Police and Firefighters receive full pensions after 20 years of service. A full pension for Police and Firefighters is defined as fifty percent of their Final Average Salary. The Final Average Salary is determined by the salary earned during the previous 12 months or the highest average salary earned during any 36 months period. The pension payout is based on the higher of the two calculations. The Final Average salary includes overtime worked, compensatory overtime, longevity bonuses, and Holiday pay. With the inclusion of overtime and other compensation, the ultimate annuity for Police and Firefighters can easily exceed their base pay. The NY Department of State has additional information on NY State Pension Plans; for further information click here.
Proponents of the current system will invariably argue that our Police and Firefighters put their lives on the line every day and deserve a just pension. This is true, but our enlisted men and women also put their lives on the line every day and the top benefit they can expect after 20 years of service is approximately 30K per year.
What is more astounding about the current pension plans for police and firefighters is that in early June the current pension plan came up for renewal as it has every two years since 1981. Obviously, the current plan has been renewed every two years since 1981 and our fiscally clueless legislation voted to continue this trend. Amazingly, given the current Fiscal Crisis, the Senate voted 58-0 and the Assembly voted 136-6 to keep the current pension structure in place. It should be noted that both Sandy Galef and Greg Ball voted to approve the measure.
As a remedy for the fiscally irresponsible behavior of our elected officials, the Governor vetoed the aforementioned plan and proposed a new Tier Five system. The status of the Tier V pension proposal for all New York State employees is not clear at this time. However, what is clear is that the Tier Five proposal does not include the Teachers, Firefighters, and Police Officers.
Additionally even if the Governor’s proposed Tier Five Plan was enacted, it would not have any effect on the pending pension budget shortfalls. The reason, New York State Public Employee Pension benefits for current employees are protected by the New York State Constitution; Tier V would only apply to future hires.
I realize, given the spineless nature of our elected officials, that a change to the New York Constitution is not feasible, but that is exactly what is needed to rein in future State expenditures.
[1] Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is a Federal Program designed to be funded by Corporate Fees.
Debate and Government: Comments on the Bedford Healthcare Forum
Submitted by joyce.mitchell1 on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 9:46amOn Wednesday night, September 2nd, my husband and two friends attended a Healthcare Forum sponsored by Congressman John Hall that was held in Bedford. We all went because we felt it was our duty as citizens to gain a better understanding of this important matter facing our country.
What we came away with was a certainty that the people in this packed hall (standing room only) expressed a fearful disgust with their government in general, and an alarming degree of discourtesy for John Hall, who tried earnestly to respond to legitimate questions. There were groups of hecklers – apparently organized to disorganize - who shouted insults and catcalls at every attempt of the Congressman to reply and at any questioner who did not represent their destructive and naysaying posture. But there were also ordinary local citizens…owners of small local businesses, retirees, parents…who expressed legitimate concerns and an innate distrust of government.
Another generality that struck me about this crowd was a total lack of compassion for the uninsured, for “illegal aliens” (that one man defined as beings from another planet,) for the less fortunate of our society. Is that who we are? I don’t think so, but I was reminded of how successfully the Goebbels propaganda machine was used to blame Jews, Gypsies and all dissenters for what was wrong in the Third Reich.
I am often an outspoken critic of government on many levels, with a focus on our local Kent government, but even I was shocked by the depth of anger and fear displayed by the crowd at this meeting. As an insurance professional for more than ten years, I know how much public pressure and DC lobbying, at a cost of billions, the industry has promulgated over many years (since 1915, when they used the same bugaboo “socialism”) to keep the insurance business state-regulated and out of the control of the Fed. I also know that this is what the fight is about for the industry, much more than fear of the competition from a public option. But they’ve done a great job again of manipulating the public.
So, I did some research and found some pertinent comments about government in the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower as cited in a NY Times Op-Ed of September 3rd. DDE received a letter from a WWII veteran, who felt that Eisenhower was hedging and wrote “We wait for someone to speak for us and back him completely if the statement is made in truth.” In reply he wrote, “I doubt that citizens like yourself could ever, under our democratic system, be provided with the universal degree of certainty, the confidence in their understanding of our problems, and the clear guidance from higher authority that you believe needed. Such unity is not only logical but indeed indispensable in a successful military organization, but in a democracy debate is the breath of life.”
Let us honor Eisenhower’s vision of an open society, debate our issues, and remain mindful of the simple courtesies that we wish to imbue in our children. To distrust all government is to distrust ourselves as a society with the choices we make. We travel and trust the roads each day that our government has constructed, we call on our police and fire force to protect the safety of our persons and property, and we take for granted the processes of our justice system – all provided for us by government and paid for by our taxes. They are no more imperfect than we are ourselves. And at the same time, let us take our responsibilities as citizens seriously. Vote in all elections, serve on school boards, get involved, remain constructively critical, form independent opinions, and think for ourselves.
