Councilman Perry Woodward’s motion to save costs by cutting
council members’ health benefits was not even seconded Monday
night, angering union leaders who have been pressured to make deep
cuts in salaries or positions.
Councilman Perry Woodward’s motion to save costs by cutting council members’ health benefits was not even seconded Monday night, angering union leaders who have been pressured to make deep cuts in salaries or positions.
“We’ve extracted a lot of concessions from city employees, and I was hoping the council would have taken a leadership position,” Woodward said Tuesday morning.
The mayor and council members cost the city $64,000 annually in health benefits. That is the same as the starting salaries for city planners, engineers and accountants – positions that were held by the bulk of the 48 full-time employees who were laid off Jan. 31. That move and other non-personnel cuts have saved nearly $8 million so far this fiscal year, which ends June 30, but city budget officials can’t seem to cut as quickly as property and sales tax revenues have fallen.
“This is such B.S.,” said Tina Acree, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 101 business agent, after witnessing Woodward’s motion die without a second. Earlier that night, the council approved a contract with AFSCME employees that sticks them with a 9 percent pay cut annually over the next two years through raise forfeitures and furlough days every other Friday starting July 1.
The Gilroy Management Association agreed to similar concessions, and all these cuts will save the city $1.6 million. That will lower next year’s budget expected deficit to $3.6 million out of $37 million in expenditures. Negotiations with Gilroy’s police and fire unions are still ongoing.
Mayor Al Pinheiro has suggested the council take a similar cut as the unions, but Woodward laughed at the idea because it would only mean about $73 per council member, who make $729 monthly.
“The mayor says let’s take a 10 percent pay cut like the unions. So, the mayor would have me give up $73 a month so he can keep his $15,000-a-year benefits. That’s just an outrageous, self-serving thing as far as I’m concerned,” Woodward said.
But Pinherio said his technically part-time jobs consumes most of his days, and if it comes with benefits, then it comes with benefits.
“I don’t consider myself a part-time mayor, and I’m not going to apologize for what I make, be it my monthly stipend or health benefits,” Pinherio said Tuesday. “We all need to share in these cuts, and 10 percent across the board takes care of it … But Mr. Woodward is not willing to apply the same standards to police and fire because he thinks they’re untouchable.”
Along with Council Members Cat Tucker and Peter Arellano – a physician at Kaiser Permanente – Woodward secures his own insurance elsewhere, but he would not be specific about where or through whom he does so. All three council members opt for Gilroy’s “cash in lieu” option that adds about $200 to their monthly incomes. The mayor’s salary equals $1,094 a month, but adding benefits lifts his monthly income to more than $2,400 – more than twice what most of his colleagues earn.
“Why should the city pay twice as much for one council member? The policy on its face doesn’t make sense,” Woodward said.
The city spends $216,000 on the council annually, $64,000 of which goes toward health insurance, according to city figures. Those numbers are regularly available, and so are each council member’s particular costs, City Attorney Linda Callon said Monday night. Still, Pinheiro and Woodward had to fight Arellano, who voted against releasing individual numbers despite the legal advice.
“For what purpose?” Arellano said as City Administrator Tom Haglund rubbed his brow. Arellano worried revealing each member’s costs could indicate family medical issues that should remain private.
“What do we have to be afraid of,” Pinheiro said Monday night, looking around the dais. “This is an open book … Whatever you want to know.”
“I don’t understand why we’re going through this,” Arellano said. “If you want to cut (benefits), then just cut (them).”
Though Woodward’s motion failed without a second, he said he would continue to push the issue because part-time employees should not receive “world-class benefits.”
A survey of 64 public agencies throughout the state ranging from the city of Morgan Hill to the Orange County Transportation Authority showed only 22 percent cover the benefits costs for elected officials and dependents. However, only 9 percent of those agencies deny elected officials coverage outright, according to the 2008 survey staff received from the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers.
Gilroy requires and pays for every council member’s dental and CalPERS retirement contributions. Woodward said he tried to forego these before being sworn in but could not do so legally. If a council member waives his or her medical benefits with evidence of other medical coverage, he or she receives a bonus on their pay check, according to city documents. Optional vision coverage costs the city between $9 and $25.
Woodward said becoming a council member for the benefits “is the wrong reason to serve your community.”
Not for Councilman Bob Dillon, who said he has devoted up to 80 hours to the part-time gig every month recently. His hourly salary would be about $9.
Health benefits are “one of the reasons I ran for council,” Dillon said. “What, I’m suppose to feel bad because the city pays my health benefits?”
City council members monthly benefits
$397 – Council members Cat Tucker, Perry Woodward and Peter Arellano, who decline city health benefits and receive about $200 a month instead. The additional cost of about $200, depending on individual plans, comes from the city paying council members’ dental and retirement contributions, which they cannot decline in their contracts.
$498 – Councilman Bob Dillon (excludes $59 co-pay)
$985 – Councilman Craig Gartman and one dependent (excludes $66 co-pay)
$1,315 – Mayor Al Pinheiro and family (excludes $87 co-pay)
$1,315 – Councilman Dion Bracco and family (excludes $151 co-pay that exceeds Pinheiro’s because Bracco has a different, undisclosed plan.)
Source: City of Gilroy Human Resources Department
