A meeting was held yesterday to begin considerations on what to do with the village employees union contract. The current contract will expire at the end of the year. In attendance was Committee Chairman Randy Allmon & member Tony Cataldo along with consultant Joe Lencewicz of J.F. Lencewicz & Associates, LLC.
Lencewicz is the consultant handling the new police department manual and will be the village's representative negotiating with the union. His firm is located in Chagrin Falls.
The AFSCME village employee contract is in the fifth year of a five year agreement. The union sent a letter stating that they wanted to negotiate wages only. However the whole contract and all its provisions are open to negotiations. With the village population being under 5,000 State Employee Relations Board rules and ORC, Wellsville is not classified a public employer. That means the village is not required to have the union. There are only five village employees covered under the contract.
Of chief concern with village officials is insurance rates. As of the first of the year premiums have increased 27%. Insurance costs just for the Fire Department last year was $60,000. Under the current contract union members pay nothing for the premiums and have a $250 yearly deductible.
Lencewicz stated you want to do what is right and fair with village employees but consideration must be given to what can be done with village's economic means. As a result of yesterday's meeting a letter will be sent to the union stating that there is no choice but to negotiate the whole contract. All elements including wages, insurance and other aspects is subject to review. The committee will wait for the union's response before proceeding any farther.
In other village news I learned yesterday the mayor is back home recuperating from his surgery. He has a follow up visit scheduled in a couple of weeks.
Tony Cataldo told me the village road salt supply is around 65 tons with the latest purchase of the additional 50 tons. The village has been contacted by three or four other suppliers if more is needed and they can't get it from Mortan through the state agreement.
Zoning Administrator Rick Williams is the temporary supervisor for village employees with Saracco being on vacation.
The police manual has been six months in the making and it is hoped to be finalized in a couple of months. They are working on the final draft with the input of members of the WPD.
ole nib
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10 comments:
First of all, the insurance has not increased 27%, and it may not. The agents are working on getting the village the best rates out there. Cataldo does not know what he is talking about. After the agent comes to the village, after he does his work, then we will know what the increase will be, until then, wait and see what happens. The 27$ increase is a premature statement.
The consultant was hired to put together a police handbook only, will he charge more now to help with the contract. When did council vote on this?
I hear the village is having money troubles. Cataldo must not be doing his job as finance chairman. Too much foolish spending. If he does not know what he is doing, get him off finance. No way, if he does his job, should the village be having money problems. Cataldo will put the village back in fiscal emergency.
Looks like it's time to bring in the big rat in Wellsville. Tony " Union Buster" Cataldo is up to his old tricks. Cataldo does not know the meaning of the word Union.
Cataldo was in the tomato and lettuce stackers union. What a joke, leave the union alone.
Somebody needs to tell JoAnn Bobby, Cataldo is not the Personnel Chairman, Allmon is. I am sure Cataldo did all the talking, and Allmon sat there saying nothing.
I attended that Personnel meeting. I did not get the impression that Cataldo is in favor of eliminating the union. It was the consultant that broached the subject with the SERB regulations & ORC provisions. Neither Tony or Allmon had any comment on that.
Personally I think it would be a waste of time to attempt to do that. I'm venturing a guess that the village population has increased since the last census and have a feeling that with Baard coming along we will be classified as a city after next year's census.
It would be silly to ruffle feathers over something that will probably be a mute point in a short while.
The consultant was doing his job and he would have been remiss in what the village is paying him for not to have pointed it out. Cataldo & Allmon are politicians and I doubt if they would want to touch it.
nib
Nibster: You can't be serious about the village population. I think we continue to lose population, and are under 4,000 people now. Haven't you noticed all the vacant houses around town? There's one vacant house per block.
The employees in the Fire Department are NOT part of the union, it is the street crew, cemetary caretaker and fiscal clerk.
Village Person - You make a valid argument in regards to the population. You could very well be correct. I was basing my comment on something I overheard a while back. It was one of those factoids you tuck in the back of your mind. Right now I can't recall who said what. There isn't really any accurate way to tell without a door-to-door census being taken.
Outsider is correct. Neither the police or the fire department is involved in the contract being discussed. That only covers five employees - 3 in the street department, the cemetery care taker and the fiscal clerk. All other employees are covered under ordinances and are not union members.
nib
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