WCA: Act Quickly on Health Care Contribution
County lawmakers must act quickly and not overstudy having workers pay a portion of their health care costs — it’s a common practice, the head of a business organization said today.
Having nonunion managers pay 15 percent of their health premiums is an obvious and necessary step in reining in the rising cost of government, said William Mooney, president of the Westchester County Business Association.
“What we’re calling for today is action, not another study. We don’t have time for another study,” Mooney said, standing in front of the county office building on Martine Avenue. “We’ve got to trim the cost of government right now, not next week, not six months from now.”
County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, proposed the measure last month — one that is considered to be a preview for union negotiations — as one of many ways to fend-off a fiscal crisis and looming budget gap.
Astorino’s plan affects just under 400 workers and would save $1.2 million a year.
The county Board of Legislators is considering the concept.
Earlier in the week, board members discussed, and then put-off a vote on an alternative proposal to have some workers under the county executive’s purview pay a percentage of their health package. The plan excluded the District Attorney’s Office, Westchester Community College, the county clerk, the Board of Elections, the county Board of Legislators and the judiciary.
It was criticized as rushed, watered down and not thought out.
Responding to concerns, Chairman Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat, formed a committee to find ways to provide quality care at a better price; its first meeting is tomorrow.
Jenkins, who has said taxpayers deserved real relief and leadership, not “politics as usual with officials playing fast and loose with the numbers,” welcomed WCA’s involvement.
“We have a legitimate opportunity to create a comprehensive and thorough plan and it must be done expeditiously,” Jenkins said.
The new temporary committee, which has a March deadline, will tackle broader issues such as finding larger savings by offering different health plans, pretax savings accounts, contribution tiers and incentives for workers to opt out.
That could mean savings of $15 million to $20 million, Jenkins said.
“The legislators need to act and demonstrate to taxpayers that they are sincere in their efforts and are willing to be part of the shared sacrifices they all talk about,” Mooney said.
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It also is a standard business practice that managers get profit-sharing plans, bonuses and stock option. That just is not the case in public sector work.
Also, all 400 of the non-represented workers are NOT managers, sounds like the County Executive is playing “fast and loose” with the numbers.
I also read that if the proposal is enacted today, the start date would be July 1st. How much do I save in taxes? a buck, maybe?
In private industry, goals are set, growth is expected. If you are asked for a 15% increase in sales, and you meet that number, your next year expectations are to maintain that 15% plus whatever the new target is. Not meeting these targets results in displeasure, cuts, and possible loss of employment. Not so in the public sector. Simple as that.
WCA under Bill Mooney is a shill for the big corporations. They have screwed their employees, and they want govt to do the same. The little guy gets it in the neck, and the Amen Chorus on the right chimes in harmony. What American business has done to their work force, cancelling benefit plans, losing $$$ in 401-Ks, etc. will yet be seen as a greed-driven mistake. It will take America in 2025 or 2030 – filled with seniors who can’t retire because they worked all their lives, but have no benefits or pensions – to recognize what transpired during the go-go-go years of the past decade. For now, the boo-birds scream “socialism!!”. But we’ll look back on nthis age as the revisitation of the Robber Barons of the 1880s.