In stark comparison to Lynda Bell's office spending spree (outlined in blog above), Miami Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez proposes to cut the hell out of Miami Dade County Staff benefits. He wants to increase healthcare contribution to 10% (from 5%). He also wants the unions to forgo the 3% cost of living adjustment scheduled for July 1st.
7 comments:
This is ridiculous. He's expecting this only from nonunion employees which is a total of 8000. Unions are not going to go for this. County Commission employees fall under this memo yet most of them will not be affected. There are so many ways to cut spending such as eliminating all executive benefits, cut all directors salaries to under 150k and eliminate all double dippers (those who retired and came back to work at their same salary or higher).
Where does all of this money for healthcare end up? How do you justify one employee paying $15,000 for health premiums, and another paying $3,500? What is the true cost of the insurance premiums?
The County is self-insured, so do all of the "extra" premium dollars get recovered into the general fund? If that is true, how do you justify the pre-tax contribution for healthcare to the IRS? If the money ends up in the general fund, it is probably an IRS violation.
I guess I have just one thing to say to the County Employees who are crying like stuck pigs...
If you don't like it, leave! Try to go out in to the Private Sector and see if you cab get a job making what you "were" making, with the same benefits.
I've got news for you. Those jobs are not out there.
So shut your Pie Holes and get back to work!
M
i am guessing that there is no extra money
Actually, he is going to ask the same of the Unions. If they want layoffs, don't accept it, but, if they want to protect their Union members, there is no other way to eliminate the budget gap. It is simple math folks. The salaries and contributions shouldn't have been so high to begin with. We have to take our medicine now for the sake of the future. Reality is reality!
Nobody likes what the Mayor is going to have to do. However, the real story is how did we get here, because I recall the former County Manager say many times we meaning the county was in good shape. Good shape my ass!!. Lets see how the county FOP gets treated? Oh I forgot the FOP supported the guy who lost oh well guys, good luck. Also Mr Mayor please park all those police and fire department cars that are used to drive to and from home. We all pay for our transportation to and from work those county employees should also.
Bravo to the new Mayor! It is about time county employees (unionized and not) felt the "pain" the majority of the private sector is enduring. The cost of living is growing exponentially, yet pay is not increasing to catch up. When the economic slump first hit, many of us in the private sector were faced with a year or two of no salary increases, our work load doubled to compensate for "down sizing" -- and we considered ourselves lucky because there were many more of us that were laid off.
Those of us working in the private sector are accustomed to paying into our own retirement funds...when times were good, our company may have matched our contribution, when times were bad we lost the match. What money we squirrel away for retirement comes from our own pockets, not just the company coffers.
Working in the private sector, we are accustomed to paying a monthly premium for health insurance, dental insurance, vision coverage and supplemental life insurance. In many instances, private companies self fund their health plans, meaning that while i may pay a premium but not go to the doctor all that often, my premium helps cover the cost for those that may be plagued with illness. Is it fair? Perhaps not, but what can we do?
Of course, my examples refer to employment at a larger company that can afford to offer its employees benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans...we are a lucky few. There are many more of us that work for "mom 'n' pop" places that try their best to offer some benefits to their employees, but those benefits don't include 401k's, vision and dental. Some don't even offer health insurance.
The bottom line is, county employees need to wake up and smell the coffee. This is a dawning of a new era that has been long in the making, but we were too blind to accept the signs of its immenent arrival. As a whole, we became very accustomed to living an inflated life well beyond the realities of our means. Rather than "spread the wealth", the time has come to bear the burden in a fair and equitable manner. The jig is up!
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