Employee Health Is Not A Cost Savings Opportunity

Our budget is a struggle every year.

Should it go up to meet the revenue available from inflation?

What should be prioritized and what should be eliminated?

How do we approach cuts in spending?

These are just some of the questions.  The budget is about what we value and I'm going out on a limb here, but I believe that without our police force, North Bay Village makes no sense.  We might as well request to be annexed to Miami Beach or Miami or unincorporate into the county.

If the residents of North Bay Village are faced with a tax hike or service cuts, the one thing you will always hear is "We will pay for the police."   Our police are local, responding within minutes, they know the community and under Carlos Noriega are reaching fully accredited national and state standards.   This is big.

Yet every new village management staff looks at the police and tries to redo the contract to squeeze some savings out of the police and this year is no different.  The Village and the FOP have not even begun to negotiate their 2020 contract and yet the Village is taking the preemptive step of discontinuing the popular health care option of a PPO.

Because it would save $64,000.  or 0.71% of our budget  Less than 1%. 

Imagine if you decided to tighten your budget at home by less than 1%, easy to do right? 

Would your first idea be to change to a less comprehensive and useful medical program?  Probably not. 

But that is what we are asking our officers to do. 

The change is from a PPO to an HMO and does not acknowledge that some of our staff have kids in college outside the area who will now be effectively uncovered, and in one case a dependent is seeking treatment out of state based on medical advice for a life threatening condition and will no longer be covered,

Our police went through a lot under the previous commission, including unjust firings, a phony police chief who was never what he said he was, and a bruising union fight which is now resolved.

It is entirely possible that there are more effective cost options for our employee coverage but our government doesn't know that.  NBV have not put it out for bid.

There may be ways that police themselves can make sure we are spending the money right.  We don't know that because this change has not been negotiated. 

If it's forced through, it's pretty clear that there will be an expensive legal fight between the union and the village as there is reason to believe that the current is a de facto part of their employment contract.

While the Village reconstructs, this is not the time to worsen the morale of the very people who have been kicked around the second most for the last 6 years (the residents get 1st place in that contest)

At an absolute minimum, the Village should continue the current coverage status, even at an increased cost, and look for savings elsewhere.  Real savings, sustainable, that move our Village forward.

The final budget hearing is September 27 and there is a meeting tonight at Village Hall of the Budget Oversight Committee.  The police have stood up for us and we need to speak up for them. 

Kevin Vericker
September 16, 2019

In The Middle Of The Not Here Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is not yet behind us and even though it looks like we won't get hit directly, we are in for some stormy days.  

I wouldn't call us lucky.  If we were lucky, Dorian would have faded out a week ago but that doesn't mean I can't take some time to express gratitude for how apparently smoothly things have been running.  

Our new Village administration has been communicating clearly and consistently in the run up to the storm.  Our Village Manager, our mayor, our communications director Daniela Romero and Chief of staff Mario Diaz have been clearly and consistently communicating what the Village is doing, what they know and what they don't know, and opening lines of communication and response to the residents on Facebook, in texts, on Twitter and in person.   They have been backed by our police force.  

This is in sharp contrast to Irma two years ago.  

Let me give you the clearest example.  The Village announced that sandbags would be available for Irma at 11 AM in the morning.  Then gave them all away by 9 AM and told the residents who had followed instructions to pound sand.  

For Dorian, the Village set up the distribution sites, delivered these in an orderly manner, made adjustments to the policies about first floor only when that was needed and then offered to deliver to those who could not make it due to disability or other factors.   

Our always excellent public works people were on top of the debris and the clogged drains and were out working through the last two days of the week.  

In fairness, they did this before Irma because they are that good but this time it was part of a village wide response team.  

Our mayor and vice mayor did what our elected officials can and should do.  They communicated and were present.  I know they did more but they also know when to get out of the way.  

It matters that they be the face of the residents during this and they're doing it right.  Commissioners Jackson and Alvarez are completely missing in action but that's good for us.  

We can contrast this to Irma when our elected officials went silent throughout the hurricane except for a mayoral temper tantrum.  every piece of information from the staff had to be pried loose, and the informal Facebook page was the only source of information.  

Village Manager Rosado and his staff have made sure the streets are clear of obvious objects and potential hazards and have kept the communications going. 

We are in for a wet and windy week.  There are lessons to be learned of course.   Still we in much better shape for when the next one, the one that hits, comes through and that's because of the clear vision and hard work of this administration and I am grateful.   

PS:  Okay.  I just have to tell you that I heard a rumor that a former official of North Bay Village appeared at the sand bag distribution site demanding 30 sand bags to protect her moat from overflowing into her castle and had a bucket of water thrown on her was politely told to go pound sand.  Whether her troupe of flying monkeys were sent out to get more sandbags has not been confirmed.  

Kevin Vericker

September 1, 2019