Hollywood city commissioners and employee union leaders haven't been able to agree on a new deal so now the city's financial future may lay in the hands of voters.
Residents will vote Tuesday on a proposal that would increase the retirement age for employees, eliminate the automatic cost of living adjustments and reduce several other financial incentives for employees.
Those issues are usually are reserved for closed door negotiations, but after the city declared a financial urgency, the fight soon went public.
"The negotiations were terms of surrender. It’s the worst plan in the state," said Jeff Marano, senior vice president of the Broward Police Benevolent Association. "All the benefits that we have worked for over the past 30 years they are trying to wipe them out at one time. We didn’t have an outlandish plan."
Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday.
If the referendum passes, city officials said the changes will help close a $38 million budget deficit, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Without the $8.5 million in savings, the city would be forced to lay off workers and hike the property tax rate, officials said.
Spearheading the fight against the proposal are the fire and police unions, whose leaders claim if benefits are reduced, they won't be able to recruit and may lose some of their seasoned officers.
Union leaders were out at polling sites Tuesday telling voters that the new deal could mean a lower quality of service to the community, Marano said.
Under the proposed plan, the retirement age would change from 50 to 52 and a person would only be able to retire if they had 25 years of service with the city, Marano said.
"What broke the city was their spending, not the pensions," he said. "They left us no choice. You’re going to get the bottom of the barrel."
The polls close at 7 p.m.
Where's My F*cking Latte? (and Other Stories About Being an Assistant in Hollywood)
Hollywood Scandals: Hollywood Headlines Book #1
via source
Categories:
Hollywood News
0 Comments