JANUARY 13, 2009

MANY FACTORS IN EFFECT IN POSSIBLE JOBS CUTS

Erie County has been operating the W.I.C. program for about 30 years. WIC is an acronym for women, infants and children. It's a supplemental food program for pregnant, postpartum and breast feeding women, infants and adults. Those applying for this supplemental assistance must be income eligible and have a medical and nutritional risk.

It is really a state program that is mostly funded through federal monies. Since this program has been in effect in Erie County, we have annually applied for a state grant to administer this program. In some other counties the conduit for this particular program is a not for profit agency. In Erie County, we currently serve approximately 15, 600 constituents, in 11 sites with 46 county employees. All this is fully funded through grant monies, which means no local tax dollars. That is true now, but once county employees retire from their position the county will continue to pay towards retirement health, which is not covered by grant funding. So this is why our current county executive is seriously considering not renewing our grant application and is asking that one of the local not for profit agencies pick up the service. Since this is a service that is not mandated to us by a higher level of government, the option remains open.

It all seems so simple. Get rid of a program that's not mandated and ultimately save local taxpayers dollars in the long run. But of course, there's a whole host of questions that need to be answered first. Is there and agency that would want to pick up this service? And would they provide the same quality and same access to this service? Would the county be able to win an improper practice grievance that the union would undoubtedly file against the county? And what about the 46 county employees that would be laid off, what are we going to do with them?

I remember many years ago when our then-county budget director wanted to outsource the county's housecleaning services. She told us that we'd be saving the county $64,000 in the first year alone. And then I thought, yeah, but who are we going to lay off in the process. Most of them were the lowest level county employee and the vast majority were women and minorities. And then she said, don't worry our employees can get a job with the company that wins the bid for the housecleaning contract. And then I thought...at what price. Until the day comes when our local business economy and private sector can provide a decent wage with decent benefits to individuals, I'm not about to cut the throats of our valued employees and throw them to the wolves. Contrary to what some may think, our employees work hard for you. As far as I'm concerned, it wasn't the public service sector that bled this country dry. As for future retirement health care benefits, the answer is simple; get to the table and negotiate in good faith.

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