Our View: Gilroy cannot afford to pay for overly generous
benefits for firefighters and police
With City Council’s recent decision not to put a measure on the ballot to end or alter binding arbitration for Gilroy’s public safety employees, the final nail appears to be in the coffin for ending the costly practice, prompting us to take a few moments to mourn.
In the end, Gilroyans will suffer the consequences as the burden of stupendously generous benefits weighs heavier and heavier upon the city, forcing cutbacks, budget chaos and perhaps city bankruptcy.
It doesn’t seem possible now, but in 15 or 20 years Gilroy will own an unbearable burden.
Currently, and for the foreseeable future, when the city and public safety workers come to an impasse in labor negotiations, the impasse is settled by an outside arbiter who does not have any accountability to Gilroy taxpayers, who does not have to worry about how raises and benefits will be paid for, and who does not have to consider what other services will have to be cut.
Two ballot measure proposals were under consideration: one to end binding arbitration completely, and another to send arbiter’s decisions to voters for final approval.
For this result, the Gilroy Fire Fighters Political Action Committee can thank its investment in Council candidates Dion Bracco and Craig Gartman, who joined Councilman Russ Valiquette in voting against either plan to end or alter binding arbitration. The firefighters union spent $3,942 in the November election on a campaign mailer supporting Bracco and another $1,415 on another mailer supporting Bracco and Gartman.
We’re especially troubled by Gartman’s “self-correcting problem” analysis: “This is a self-correcting problem. If the decision of the arbitrator comes down and it’s a $2 million hit and we have to bite the bullet and cut other city services to take care of fire, you will see an outcry from the community when we have to cut all these other programs.”
Essentially, Gartman promises to tackle the problem after a crushing budget hit from an arbiter, instead of taking steps proactively to prevent that from happening. Political courage it’s not.
Despite Mayor Al Pinheiro’s consistent, measured opposition to binding arbitration, the City Council clearly lacks the political will to make this tough decision. Public safety unions have shown they’re willing to spend lots of money to protect and increase their 80-percent share of Gilroy’s general fund pie.
At this point, voter outrage is the only hope. And someone out there with fiscal common sense will have to lead the effort to qualify a ballot measure. If Gilroy voters get upset, the promise of ending or altering binding arbitration could rise from the dead.
Without voter outrage, our fair city will wind up drowning from an unquenchable debt poured down its throat by politicians who lack the courage to tell residents the truth.
