Published: October 27, 2009 10:22 pm      

The right to be EDIT-ed: New Albany police, fire unions push for EDIT help with budgets

To avoid layoffs and reduction of services, New Albany’s fire and police union leaders are asking city officials to consider supplementing public safety budgets with funding sources beyond property taxes.

Bargaining employees have been under the gun in recent weeks as some City Council members and Mayor Doug England have called for the police and fire unions to be mindful of the last two New Albany budget shortfalls when negotiating contracts for 2010.

The police and fire departments account for about 85 percent of the general fund budget, but neither has a 2009 contract. A fire deal is being negotiated that would include no pay increases for the year according to Robert Mann, president of the New Albany fire union.

Paul Haub, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99, anticipates talks will resume over a 2009 police contract soon as well.

As for 2010, England said last week he would close one of the city’s five firehouses to balance the budget if necessary. The police and fire departments were over their 2009 budgets, and property tax receipts aren’t going to cover expenses as they stand for public safety, England said.

“I can only give citizens what they pay for,” England said.

While the council holds the purse strings for funding departments, the mayor negotiates the contracts with the fire and police unions.

The city collects finances from other sources such as tax-increment- financing and Economic Development Income Tax money and riverboat funds. Those accounts have been tapped into by the council in the past to cover public safety expenses, as well as to account for shortfalls in its general fund.

The council could also have to take back a $500,000 EDIT pledge designated to hire five cops to help cover the police budget for 2009.

The council is scheduled to vote on using EDIT to cover the $813,376 general fund deficit for 2009 as well as to help with shortfalls in the police and fire budget Monday.

Haub is perplexed by the situation, as he believed city leaders were ready two years ago to tackle the gap in funding created by state property tax reform by relying on EDIT money.

“I’m still not clear how we got here,” Haub said of the talk of cutting police officers and public safety services.

The Local Option Income Tax, or LOIT, was defeated by the Floyd County Council in part due to lack of support by the city council, Haub said.

The city council does not vote on LOIT, which can be used to fund public safety expenses. But there were New Albany council members that spoke against the tax, and Haub believed that was because they planned on using EDIT to make up for lost property taxes.

Two cops will be leaving the department soon to take on positions at other destinations, including one officer that is headed to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Haub said budget strains could leave those slots unfilled, which would be a big loss coupled with the EDIT funding for five new officers also being snipped, he continued.

The city should have approximately $2.7 million in EDIT money for 2010, with about $1.1 million of that sum marked for other causes. The sewer fund stands to receive $875,000 in EDIT funds next year, which were designated as a way of reducing wastewater rates.

Mann said before the fire department should have to cut employees or shutdown a firehouse, the city should be forthcoming with how much tax money is available in other funds to assist public safety.

“Is there any money that could be supplemented in [the budget] to make this work,” Mann asked.

Council President Dan Coffey believes EDIT to be an answer. He added that cutting health insurance for the council along with eliminating administration positions such as deputy mayor would save the city enough money to prevent at least two or three layoffs.

With a combined total of about 140 New Albany firefighters and police officers, Coffey said saving every position is crucial.

“I’m so tired of the police and the fire being the ones that get hammered,” Coffey said.

The council should use EDIT money to fund basic services before tapping the tax pool for economic development purposes, Coffey said.

“I know where the people are. They want police protection, they want fire protection, they want ambulance service,” Coffey said. “They’re tired of the city being in the real estate business.”

State law allows for EDIT money to help with general fund expenditures, and England has no problem with using it as a crutch until more revenue can be captured by the city.

But the mayor added EDIT needs to be used, ideally, for attracting businesses that can bring jobs to New Albany.

England said he wouldn’t object the council calling on EDIT “to prop up the budget by $1.5 million for a year or two.”

The city should be able to annex businesses along Charlestown Road near the Interstate 265 interchange within two years, which would add to the city’s general fund. The completion of Grant Line Industrial Park West should also attract companies and more tax receipts, England said.

But England strongly defended his deputy mayor, Carl Malysz, saying he fills several positions which accounts for his salary.

Mann also defended the pay of his firefighters, saying a salary cut is off the table from the union’s perspective.

“We can’t take a pay cut, it would hurt not only us but some of the retirees because the pension system is based on a first class firefighter,” salary, Mann said.

Only one of the two city ambulances is currently running a full shift, with the other only operating about half the time, Mann said. The second ambulance is not in the fire contract, and operating it full-time would require overtime pay, Mann said.

England said he’s negotiating with Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services to assist with the costs of both ambulances.

Most patients transported by the city go to Floyd Memorial except during an extreme emergency. Thus the hospital is bolstered financially by the city’s ambulance service.

If the fire department had to cut both ambulances, the service would fall to private companies that could take patients to different hospitals. There are private ambulance carriers that transport in Floyd County now.

Mann said the fire department doesn’t want to lose ambulance service or have a firehouse closed, and feels a review of the city’s finances could reveal a way to keep the department running at its current level.

The council could soon vote on hiring a firm to audit the general fund as a way of determining the assets available to New Albany, Coffey said. This would be separate from the State Board of Accounts audit performed annually.

Haub said the police and fire unions have talked about contributing to the cost of the audit. It would help the unions better grasp what the city can fund and make contract negotiations easier, Haub said.

With the cuts and political jockeying, Haub said it’s hard to determine what the city can actually afford.

“We keep playing this shell game with the budget and there’s a lack of trust, at least for our membership as to what we have and what we don’t have,” Haub said.