TROY — CSEA members employed by the City of Troy and their supporters recently worked to help save city services in the wake of a budget battle that jeopardized 90 union-represented jobs.
After weeks of budget wrangling, city council members voted on a 2017 spending plan that overrides the state’s property tax cap and retains city services that CSEA members provide.
The budget vote can be largely credited to the efforts of CSEA members employed by the city and their supporters, who worked for weeks at raising public awareness of the issue as they lobbied city officials for a more reasonable budget.
The budget battle began in November when Mayor Patrick Madden announced a budget with a 28 percent tax increase, a hike the mayor noted was essential to maintain services and stop kicking the fiscal can down the road.
Like many cash-strapped New York communities, Troy had been relying on now-depleted reserve funds and outdated accounting practices to make the numbers work.
Madden, who ran for office in 2015 promising to clean up questionable budgeting, was staring down a nearly $6 million dollar deficit.
His proposal elicited gasps and swift response from a caucus of four city council members, who declared opposition to a tax cap override.
On Nov. 29, the city council came up one vote short of the majority needed for the override.
Workers take action
Over the next weeks, the mayor and council caucus leader engaged in a game of political hot potato, blaming and explaining.
Each side sent letters to employees, with each accusing the other of using city workers as political pawns.
“I felt like a child whose parents are in a divorce battle and fighting over the kids,” said one CSEA-represented city worker about the situation.
CSEA Capital Region, City of Troy and Rensselaer County Municipal Employees Local activists kicked off a campaign calling for another vote — and a budget that wouldn’t decimate services and the lives of the people providing the services.
Our activists distributed fliers throughout the city, including door-to-door visits, as well as at a recent city event. They also widely used social media to raise awareness of the issue. Our members also organized a rally before a
mid-December city council meeting, which generated considerable local coverage.
Our City of Troy members said that while speaking with city residents about how a potential loss of public services would translate to higher costs, the public was supportive.
Capital Region President Ron Briggs speaks with media during a recent rally.
In print, television and editorials, CSEA Capital Region President Ron Briggs urged compromise and another budget vote.
“Our collective efforts were successful in saving more than 80 jobs, but we won’t celebrate when people are still being laid off,” Briggs said. “What happened in Troy is sad and disturbing. The leaders of Troy put our members through emotional chaos that still continues. This episode shows why, now, more than ever, we need unions.”
In early December, Madden presented another budget with a lower increase and measures that lowered projected layoffs to eight, a plan the council passed on Dec. 12.
As The Work Force went to press, three city employees have received layoff notices. CSEA is working with city officials on reducing the number of layoffs.
— Therese Assalian
