vision2020
Re: Levy promises
John:
The district cannot spend money that it doesn't have. It
cannot--well, perhaps, more appropriately it should not
and does not have any history of--negotiating a pay
increase with "one time" money. Pay cannot be
decreased, so any pay raise must be backed by revenue
that occurs every year. "One time money" is money such
as grants, savings from this year's budget (no guarantee
there will be similar savings next year), or the "refund" of
PERSI money the district received last year.
So, all the assumptions cannot be true--unless more
permanent funding is made available from another
source (other than the levy would provide). The board
has identified that there is $250,000 of additional revenue
that had originally been set aside (in next year's budget)
for the reserve fund (that the auditors say should be
increased for fiscal viability and safety). Given the
district's financial difficulties, it is likely that the reserve
will not be increased this year--at least not by that
amount. Additionally, there may be savings realized in
this year's budget. All the funds budgeted and available
this year may not be spent because of increased fiscal
restraint this year. It is not unusual for the district to have
some money carried over from year to year. Actual
expenditures have often varied from about 97% of budget
to 101% of budget. This year we may be lucky enough to
have about 2% left over, although that remains to be seen.
And that will have to be my last comment on a subject
that deals with salary and negotiations, because as you
well know negotiations are conducted in confidence and it
is not appropriate to talk publically about what is or may
or may not happen in the process.
If you are politely trying to ask if the board is lying to the
public, the answer is "no".
Mike
On 7 Apr 02, at 21:55, John Danahy wrote:
Date forwarded: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 21:56:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: "John Danahy" <JDANAHY@turbonet.com>
To: "Vision2020" <vision2020@moscow.com>
Subject: Levy promises
Date sent: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 21:55:57 -0700
Forwarded by: vision2020@moscow.com
The following question is based on two assumptions. First
is that if the levy passes, the district will actually spend
the funds as it has stated, and second, that salary and
contract negotiations with the MEA have not yet been
finalized. ( or maybe even begun)
The MEA will bargain for a salary increase plus benefits for
its members. An across the board 3% salary increase plus
benefits increases and steps and columns will cost @
$500,000 to $600,000. Where will these funds come from if
the district cannot pay for current programs and has made
promises as to how the levy will be used?
Note: The above figure is a guesstimate on my part and
assumes a contract settlement that pays a 3% raise. The
actual amount is not important to the answer.
John Danahy
jdanahy@turbonet.com
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