When the Lincoln County Budget Committee met Nov. 10, the hot button agenda item was whether or not to recommend salary increases for non-union personnel. Ultimately, the employees will receive a 1.75 percent salary increase, though the issue was strongly debated and passed by one vote.
Additionally, the committee unanimously supported the county’s line item Reserve Accounts request of $212,000.
Lincoln County Commissioner Sheridan Bond said the commissioners “discussed it and came up with a figure [2 percent], but we will entertain what the budget committee wants to do.”
State Representative Les Fossel (R-Alna) advocated for zero or flat funding, believing, “I think under the current economic times, if we come in and we either flat fund the county [salaries] or the amount goes down, we’ll be heroes, but if it goes up when so many people have had no raise or have lost money or have no job; that’s going to be a hard pill to swallow,” he said.
Fossel asked if towns would shoulder the increase, if raises were approved. “We don’t know,” said Commissioner Bill Blodgett. “Say we are flat-funded and say if one town goes up [in the state valuation] and another goes down; we just don’t know until we get the state’s evaluation.”
By way of example, Polewarczyk said county taxes went down, but Wiscasset’s taxes increased “purely as a result of the evaluation,” he said.
Bond also recommended the committee consider that, “we’re in negotiations with the sheriff’s department, and we have no idea where that’ll be. We’re hoping we can resolve it before the end of the year, but it is up to the union.”
Committee member Hank Nevins (Bremen) said, “you’ve got to pay your good people,” and directing his comments to Fossell said, “The big problem is the state. The county budget is peanuts compared to what we should get from the state; the state is the problem, not the county, particularly for the schools. I want to go to 3 percent [salary increase].”
Fossel said he was aware the state has not sent money “down to the towns from what the federal government took away.” At the same time, while recognizing the dedication and loyalty of county personnel Fossel said, “There’s just no money. It still gets down to having no resources. I can’t vote for resources we don’t have.”
Weighing to support a raise or recommend flat funding, the committee discussed repercussions of either decision.
“If you do neglect them [non-union personnel] and give them nothing, you convince them the right answer is to join a union,” said Polewarczyk.
Budget Committee member Stephen Ham (Boothbay) recommended keeping up with the union “so they don’t get upset,” and believing it was fair.
Anecdotally, the committee shared personal challenges as business owners and being self-employed, and “scraping by day-to-day” to pay employees, or during the current recession having to lay off workers.
“I don’t get a raise, and haven’t gotten a raise, and I don’t think unions should have raises as well. They are getting retirement and health insurance that I don’t get,” said Josh Pinkham (Damariscotta). “I didn’t vote for the 1.75 [percent increase] last time, and I would vote for the 1.75, but I won’t be voting for 2 percent,” he said.
Al Lewis (Nobleboro) also said he could not support the recommendation of a 2 percent increase.
In his final argument for flat funding, Fossel rhetorically asked how many county employees had been laid off, versus the 10 he was forced to let go, along with discontinuing his own benefits such as disability, life insurance, health savings contributions, and not receiving a paycheck in three years.
“I don’t mean to put my situation on the county workers, but they have a stable job, and good [benefit] packages. If these were good times, I’d agree entirely. I don’t see the money to do it; I just can’t vote for it,” Fossel said.
Agreeing, Lewis also said the employees should be glad they have jobs.
Polewarczyk countered, arguing county government is “different” than selling a product where the demand rises and falls, and county workers perform a valuable and irreplaceable service to the people of Lincoln County.
At the vote, the motion to increase non-union personnel salaries 2 percent failed, but the motion passed to accept a 1.75 increase by one vote.
In describing the request, Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell laid out where the county budget currently stands with, “we’ve got to finish the upgrade to the computer, and don’t forget about the Gore Bridge; the Hibberts Gore Bridge will cost $11.8 or $11.5 (million) and that will come out of roads and bridges.”
O’Connell outlined the $15,000 (FY 2012) request for buildings and grounds; $10,000 for capital equipment; and, $10,000 for capital improvement saying, “We’ve got four separate buildings and a ton of equipment.”
O’Connell also pointed out the importance of keeping up with EMA/Communication equipment and technology (requesting $100,000), “and that hasn’t been cheap,” he said, along with maintaining five communication towers and the ongoing upgrades.
Happily, O’Connell reported the “no more funding [of] Two Bridges when we had cost sharing,” and discussed the $50,000 request for the recycling program, up $25,000 from the 2011 budget.
O’Connell said the numbers reflected the need to replace two packers that are in “pretty sad shape,” as are the bailers, and the ongoing maintenance accounts needs to remain funded “because we can suddenly blow through our contingency with legal; and we’ve had an ugly year for legal expenses, and that’s what I ask the committee to approve.
“These [requests] are modest, apart from the $50,000 recycling and the other amount [for EMA/Communications].”
After motions, the vote found committee unanimously approving the request for $212,000 for the Reserve Accounts.