Mayor Higgins sent a letter to all non-represented employees at the end of February to let them know they will not receive any COLA or wage increase in FY2010.

The City's current plan provider has already informed us that to continue the plan in the next year, the cost of coverage will increase by 20%.

We are currently waiting to hear (in mid-March) from other health insurance providers with their proposals. The city's Insurance Advisory Committee will review all plans and their related costs.

In recent years, the Mayor has worked closely with Department Heads to consolidate departments and functions to better manage the delivery of city services in the most efficient way. Some examples include moving the Parking Clerk's office (collecting fee and fine revenue) to the City Collector's office (responsible for collecting of taxes and other revenues to the city); the combination of the City Clerk and Registrar of Voters office into one combined department; removing dispatch duties from uniformed public safety officers in the Police and Fire departments and shifting the responsibility to our civilian Dispatch Center.

For FY2010, the Mayor is asking the Central Services department to provide centralized supply purchasing for all city departments.

We have also regionalized some services in partnership with neighboring communities. Some examples include our Public Health Nurse, Sealer of Weights and Measures, and Veterans' Services Agent all provide services to neighboring towns, for which the towns pay Northampton for our staff's time, expertise and services.

Mayor Higgins asked the leaders of all city unions to open negotiations to ask their members to join non-represented employees in taking a wage freeze in FY2010 and to discuss an increase in the employee share of health insurance costs.

It is important to note that the city's unions are working under binding negotiated contracts, and do not have an obligation to reopen them for bargaining. Given the state of the economy, the rising costs of running our own homes, the Mayor is mindful that what she is asking of employees is to take an effective cut in pay, and this is not something that is easy to ask. The Mayor is, however, hopeful that all of the leaders with whom she has spoken have expressed a willingness to sit down and have the conversations.

Mayor Higgins has focused on these issues in opening communications with the city's unions with the goal of saving as many jobs across the city and schools as possible. In the current economy, we are only too aware that if someone loses their job, it may be very difficult to find another, and it is not a good thing for our community to have any more neighbors out of work. Given the significant size of the budget gap and the fact that the majority of spending in the city is on personnel, it is not likely that the city can preserve all jobs, but it is a goal of the Mayor's in building the FY2010 budget to minimize layoffs to the extent that is possible.

It is also important to note that laying off personnel is not a simple cost saving technique. The rule of thumb is, for every two people laid off, the city must layoff a third person to pay for the unemployment benefits to which those employees are entitled.

As of early June, 5 of the city's 14 unions have agreed to the wage freeze. The police officer's union rejected the wage freeze, but the state legislature has cut out funding for the Quinn Bill, which in essence means that they will be experiencing salary cuts in FY2010 even without a wage freeze. The union representing police sergeants is still in negotiations with the city.

There are seven units associated with the Northampton Association of School Employees, and those units have not yet made their decisions known to the city.

The Mayor and Superintendents have been clear that the wage freeze proposal will stem some, but not all, layoffs in FY2010.

The City Council voted to place a Proposition 2 1/2 Override on the ballot for Northampton voters to decide.

Mayor Higgins' stated position is that we are facing an extremely severe budget gap which will significantly change how we provide services to the people of Northampton through our schools and other city departments. Given this, she believes that it is up to the citizens of Northampton to have a voice in determining whether we can, as a community, live with these reduced services or whether we feel we are able to contribute more through our property taxes to maintain at least something close to the current level.

However, Mayor Higgins also stated that she would not go to the citizens of Northampton with an Override proposal if negotiations with city unions do not result in a wage freeze. She stated it would be inappropriate to ask Northampton families who have been dealing with job losses and rising insurance premiums to make further sacrifices in which city employees are not sharing. She continued to make her position known to Councilors, while also acknowledging that she had heard from many community members that they believed they had the right to weigh in and be heard regardless of whether all unions had reported back. In the end, the City Council decided to move ahead with placing the question on the ballot by a vote of 8-1.

Mayor Higgins is actively seeking and welcoming input from city employees and residents for ways to address this current budget crisis. Ideas received in her office will be posted on the city website on the page titled "The City Speaks." Please send any thoughts, ideas, questions or comments to mayor@northamptonma.gov, and please understand that with her heavy schedule she will not be able to respond to each email personally.