Here is an email from Donna Antonucci who had an email exchange with the the State Fiscal Monitor Judy Tripodi on whether or not the new legistative chnages and the police and fire audits should be factored into the union negotiations. Read below........
Read below for the email exchange between myself and Judy Tripodi. I asked Tripodi if we should wait for the outcome of Christie's proposed pension and benefits changes and whether or not we should wait for the audits to advise the contract negotiations. She makes it clear that she has been negotiating these contracts long before Zimmer, Christie and the new Councilmembers were in office. Excuse me, but I think she is basically saying she doesn't care for their input despite that they were elected by the public to represent us.
It's pretty clear to me that she is behind the hold up to getting the Police audit from the DCA. Read NJ.com. The new head was hired by Christie. I wonder what the new Director of the DCA, Lori Grifa, will think of Tripodi's attitude and lack of consideration of will of the people. I conjecture that Tripodi was conspiring with Jacobucci to withhold those audits and I think this email shows her true colors.
We need those audits because I have a sinking suspicion that Tripodi's deal is meager at best.
What do you think? Think Tripodi said something like, "give me a concession on healthcare (5, 10, 10 - no contributions to premiums, get rid of contract days, keep your terminal pay, keep your ability to accrue vacation towards retirement, keep your unlimited sick time, get 3%+ raises year over year) and I will hide those audits so we can protect you from layoffs?"
It is a matter of debate whether or not Christie's proposed changes will trump current contracts. Typically, state statute overrides. I am sure the unions will contest this but it's not a closed matter as she presents it.
When she says, "Everyone has known about the police report for a very long time and it was agreed upon by all parties that the report would not have any impact on the negotiations.", was she talking about Mayor Zimmer and the current Council? It sounds like she is referring to the Roberts/Cammarano administration as if we care what those "corruptocrats" think about what we should do. Roberts was inept and Cammarano is going to prison.
After all, they were in when Tripodi got the results of the audit and started the negotiations with Scarinci/Hollenbeck. Who cares if Roberts and Cammarano agreed along with the unions. Nice of her to decide to ignore the results of the audit. How could they not have an impact on the negotiations?
What happened to transparency? Is the Fiscal Monitor exempt?
Original email from Donna Antonucci
From: Donna Antonucci
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:01 PM
To: Judy Tripodi
Subject: contract question
Ms. Tripodi,
Given that the state is considering sweeping changes to pension and healthcare benefits for all public employees that are currently expected to go through by the end of February, do you not feel it's prudent to wait for the outcome before pushing through our Police and Fire contracts?
I don't know if the bills pass, do they supercede what's in a contract or would the law say "as of the expiration of all contracts the new law will take effect"?
For example, if the new law says that all employees must contribute to healthcare premiums up to 1.5% of their incomes and if we signed a contract the day before, would Hoboken preclude itself from taking advantage of the new legislation until these contracts expired? Since we have expired contracts, wouldn't it be prudent to wait for the outcome of this most relevant legislation?
Wouldn't it be prudent to wait for the Police audits as well? Would that information advise on whether or not the current deal is a good one or not for Hoboken?
Thank you for your time.
Donna Antonucci
Judy Tripodi's Response
From: Judy Tripodi
To: Donna Antonucci
Sent: Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 10:05 AM
What happens in the State has absolutely nothing to do with the City's current contract negotiations. The proposals made by the governor for the State employees relate to all new hires, not current employees or retirees.
Besides, I began these negotiations long before Mayor Zimmer and the 4 new council members were elected and long before Governor Christie was elected.
Everyone has known about the police report for a very long time and it wasagreed upon by all parties that the report would not have any impact on the negotiations. The results of the report would be handled by other actions undertaken by the City.
My comment: I agree with Donna on this one. The proper process is to use the information from independent audits to determine if the police and fire staffing, salaries, and benefits are in line with proper staffings levels and compensation elsewhere factoring in cost of living. Why would you go out and have an audit performed in the first place if you were not going to use that information in one of the key aspects of the budget? Judy absolutely makes no sense here. Share your comments below...... ◦
