Hmmm..and I thought everything was just ducky and we had a brighter future just around the corner.

    "However, the city countered by offering a zero percent increase. City officials said they have been prudent with finances asMiddletown lost revenue as a result of the recession, reduction of local government funding and the estate tax, population reduction, declining property values, cost of living increases and a ratings downgrade from Moody’s Investor Services.

    In the fact-finder’s report, City Manager Doug Adkins told Sheridan that Middletown continues to face a number of problems such as deferred maintenance, maintaining streets, sewer issues, other capital issues, and blighted housing.     Adkins said the city has had to cut spending, reducing the city’s workforce and not filling vacant positions. He said the unanticipated revenue from 2014 was used to bring the city’s gas and pension funds out of negative balances."

Posted: 3:23 p.m.Thursday, April 9, 2015

No raises for police supervisors and patrolofficers

Fact-finder says Middletown police unionshould accept one-time bonus

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

    Middletownpolice supervisors and patrol officers won’t be getting a raise in the finalyear of their contract.

    A State Employee Relations Board fact-finderruled Monday in favor of the city of Middletownin a wage re-opener with two police bargaining units represented by theFraternal Order of Police Lodge 36.

    Middletown City Council approved thefact-finder’s report and recommendation after a short executive session.

    The police unions were seeking a 3 percentacross-the-board raise, retroactive to Nov. 1, 2014, for the final year oftheir three-year contract, which expires Oct. 31. Fact-finder Philip H.Sheridan Jr. recommended the city offer, and the police bargaining unitsaccept, the $1,000 presented to all other city employees under thePerformance-Based Compensation program.

    The unions argued that they went the firsttwo years of the contract without a wage increase and that the city had theability to grant the raises because of increased revenue through delinquentincome tax collections, increased tax collections from the public safety levy,significant private development, elimination of some police positions, spendingcuts and a healthy carryover from 2014. They said wages of the Middletown bargaining units were belowaverage when compared with similar bargaining units in other communities.

    However, the city countered by offering azero percent increase. City officials said they have been prudent with financesas Middletownlost revenue as a result of the recession, reduction of local governmentfunding and the estate tax, population reduction, declining property values,cost of living increases and a ratings downgrade from Moody’s InvestorServices.

    In the fact-finder’s report, City ManagerDoug Adkins told Sheridan that Middletown continues to face a number ofproblems such as deferred maintenance, maintaining streets, sewer issues, othercapital issues, and blighted housing.     Adkins said the city has had to cut spending,reducing the city’s workforce and not filling vacant positions. He said theunanticipated revenue from 2014 was used to bring the city’s gas and pensionfunds out of negative balances.

    The city has offered full-time employees aone-time Performance-Based Compensation of $1,000 for 2015 that is based on thecity’s financial health instead of giving cost of living increases, and was aresult of cost-cutting measures in 2014. The city did not offer wage increasesto any of the other bargaining units or to non-represented employees.

    The report said because the policebargaining units chose to go to fact-finding, the Performance-BasedCompensation was no longer being offered, and because the city believed theseunits had fared better than the other units.

    In his ruling, Sheridan found the city was able to pay areasonable wage increase but did not see the uncertainty of city revenues andexpenditures to support the re-opener as a substitute for a full, three-yearagreement, pointing out that five months of the re-opener period had alreadypassed.

    “A city that is flush and able to fund wageincreases for its deserving employees does not cut its work force and itsexpenditures for city infrastructure,” Sheridanwrote. “The city’s budget process has been conservative and reasonable.”