“City payrolls will rise 3 percent per year while benefit costs will rise 8 percent per year and perhaps more. Tax millage rates in the city are already sky-high at 12.04, compared to 2.3 in Manheim Township and 2.6 in Mountville. To balance next year’s budget — and the year after that — the city must confront the source of the problem: the untenable salary and benefit expenses tied to union contracts.” – Hourglass Foundation as reported in the Sunday News. …
Click here to read the full article.
WATCHDOG: According to one source, the city’s fiscal problems are eclipsed by those of the School District of Lancaster (and other school districts throughout the state.) Continuous pay increases beyond the current rate of inflation and underfunded pension programs will necessitate a layoff of as much as one-third of the teaching staff in years to come. Classes as past generations have known them may have to be modified for the Internet age to adjust to reduce staffing.
Maybe the “Watchdog” needs to stop just lying in his dog house and come out into the light and research the cause of the pension crisis instead of yapping the mistaken media mantra.
In fact, there have not been “continuous pay increases beyond the rate of inflation.” SDoL teacher’s pay has not kept up with inflation over the past decade.
The problem with the pension system is due to the failure of the legislature to make the required contributions to the pension system since early in the decade. This pension funding “holiday” the legislature took allowed the state to spend on other pet legislative projects, rather than met its statutory obligation to the pension system.
The PA Independent, and many other true investigative reporting outlets, have actually researched and written about the facts of this situation.
http://www.paindependent.com/todays_news/detail/public-pension-crisis-looms-for-taxpayers
I was surprised by this editorial–it’s poorly written and without any basis in fact. They’ll really print anything.
OK Watchdog
So what were the percentage of increase in the city school district and the city of Lancaster ( both uniform and non uniform workers?) Just go back 5 years for the results.