A War on the Public

WAR! Screams the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. Apparently the union believes that its members will be irreparably harmed by Mayor Berry's proposal to cut city wages by a whopping 3%.

"Please understand that we are at war, a war of survival and a right to exist, and we will not go lightly into the night," [Andrew] Padilla wrote in a recent AFSCME newsletter. "Everyone must be prepared to assist the union in this most dire of situations."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

 Sounds a lot like a line from the movie "Independence Day." More importantly, the highly charged rhetoric is ill-advised and factually inaccurate. First and foremost, Mayor Berry is not challenging AFSCME's "right to exist." In point of fact, the union's existence isn't being challenged or threatened in the least, but rather public employees' ability to continue living as if the Great Recession didn't exist.

Three years ago, Albuquerque's unemployment rate was 3.4% according to Workforce Solutions. Now, the Albuquerque's unemployment stands at 9.2% (New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions). In three years Albuquerque has gone from what is considered to be full employment to almost 10% unemployment. So what has been happening in the public sector workforce over the last 12 months?

Government added 1,100 new jobs for an increase of 1.3 percent. The lion’s share of the growth came from federal government, which was up 700. Local and state government gained 200 jobs each. Many of the new federal government jobs have come from the decennial census. 

- New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

Other winners during the current economic disaster are health care workers and you guessed it... teachers. Educational & Health Services added 600 jobs. Meanwhile, construction (-2,100); manufacturing (-1,500); professional & business services (-3,000); retail trade (-1,200); transportation, warehousing & utilities (-800); financial activities (-100); and miscellaneous other services (-200).

It's clear that the private sector has been hemorrhaging jobs while the public sector not only enjoys job stability but increases. Now, instead of being thankful for relative stability of their members' jobs - the organization charged with representing these lucky workers is marching to "WAR!"

Hmmm... we wonder just how well AFSCME's "war" will go over with the public when almost 1 in 10 of them are out there trying to find a job?

Like it or not, government workers do not create wealth. Government workers consume wealth created by others in the private sector. Each government job depends on the healthy existence of hundreds of private sector jobs. At a time when the private sector is shrinking, it's morally wrong and fiscally unsustainable to increase the burdens placed on a shrinking number of private sector workers and businesses.

They say it's wise to pick your battles. With 9.2% unemployment and 18 months of negative job growth, AFSCME is simply outnumbered. Mayor Berry and the City Council would do well to stand with the public that elected them and pass the mayor's proposed budget. This is a battle that AFSCME is unlikely to win in a "war" that should never be fought.

$10 MILLION in the Hole

Everyone is starting to come up a little short. From banks to state governments the current economic situation is starting to take its toll. Wall Street got $700 BILLION, California is asking for $7 BILLION to cover a $15 BILLION shortfall, and no one knows how much Massachusetts wants from Uncle Sam's threadbare taxpayers.

Now right here in Eyeland, Bernalillo County is facing a $10 MILLION revenue shortfall. In a memo (read it here) to county officials, County Manager Thaddeus Lucero blames the shortfall on four things - a $3 to $5 MILLION drop in property tax collections as a result of foreclosures and inability to pay, a $3 to $5 MILLION drop in Gross Receipts, a $1.3 MILLION decline in Zoning, Building and Public works fees (a drop of 60%), and a $260,000 decline in motor vehicle fees and gas tax collections.

To offset the projected revenue shortfalls the County Manager recommends the following 6 actions:

1. Immediately begin intense quarterly budget reviews.
2. Cease the purchase of new vehicles until revenues are stabilized.
3. Cease all out-of-state travel that is not approved by the County Manager.
4. Implement a selective hiring freeze on all non-public safety positions.
5. Monitor all grants and contracts to ensure payment prior to contract expiration.
6. Immediately freeze the implementation of new programs.

We don't know about you, but that doesn't look like $10 MILLION to us and a couple of those - like items 1 and 5 - should be standard operating procedure. Unless county officials are spending extravagant amounts on out-of-state travel or buying Hummers for the Sheriff's Office, they're gonna' need to find some more cash.

If you'll remember we told you about the spending spree that the county has been on for the last four years - more than doubling county spending from $220 MILLION to $521 MILLION (read it here). And just last August the county not only voted to purchase a $42 MILLION palace for their royal... uh, selves, but sold the bonds in a lightning move to avoid those pesky voters.

Somethin' just aint right over at Bernalillo County. They've managed to dig themselves a gaping $10 MILLION hole and are trying to refill it using a hand shovel.

Of Trolleys, Arenas, and Pandas

It seems that everyday there's another headline in the Journal about how the Mayor's going to spend our money. One day it's a trolley, another a 16,000 seat downtown arena, and today a cute and cuddly rented panda. (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required)

We understand that these are all capital projects but it's still our hard earned money. Plus, each one of these projects will require money to operate, because they cannot be self-sufficient. The panda alone will cost at least $890,000 a year to maintain (possibly more like $1.3 Million a year), not to mention a $1.2 Million habitat that may be empty after just 2 years. This is yet another example of "How NOT to Plan for a Budget Shortfall." Blogger Mario Burgos shows you another one here. (Thanks for the Hat Tip)

In today's article BioPark Director Ray Darnell said, "The mayor is realistic. He doesn't want to pursue this forever..." Why are we pursuing this at all?