Still looking for answers - nothing on record
Although Mr. Dormody has told the Budget Committee members how he wants them to act and how the Budget Committee should conduct its business, he has yet to inform us as to the real important stuff - how he would vote on the important fiscal issues that face the Town?
Mr. Dormody has done well in picking on what Doug and Terry have said on the record but carefully not revealing his stances on the various issues fiscal issues facing the town. I thought that perhaps he finally decided to let the electorate what they were voting for other then a "civil" person when I saw that he was answering questions....
...er, not so much. From his site:
Gilford Resident Questions:
- Town employee contributions to there ever increasing health care cost.
- Do you consider wages in Gilford to be above average? If so, will you work to keep raises in line with private sector raises? Many people I know receive 0 - 3% annually, plus have their health contributions raised frequently.
- Should the Budget Committee be involved with teacher contracts? The previous three year contract of an annual 8% wage increase, along with an above average increase in the current contract, could definitely use some oversight.
- Should the Budget Committee be looking at the retirement fund contributions of town employees? This is a state, and country, wide issue that is going to start costing taxpayers huge money. I would appreciate these issues, along with your responses, being posted on your web site for other candidates to give their much needed input.
My Response:
Now, to your first question regarding town employee contributions to ever-increasing health costs. Like any private business, it is reasonable for the town to expect employees to share in the burden of rising health care costs. Having said that, like any private business, the town owes a duty to their employees to make decisions about such contribution levels based on a thorough and professsional salary / benefit analysis that takes their complete compensation package into account. If we can't get such a study in-house, then we should pay to have one completed. More on this in the next question.
First thing that hits me is the part that does not surprise me - coming from a multi-billion dollar company like UAL, first answer is to pay for the study. Of course, in that environment, there are lots of underlings to do the research. And generally there is money for outside consultants (although UAL spent quite a long time in bankruptcy due to costs outstripping revenues) to do such studies.
Also, I consider this a well crafted answer, because if one reads and rereads it, he seems to nod a yes to employees sharing in the healthcare burdens, but then spends quite a bit of time softening that stance. To be honest, it is not clear what his stance is on this subject.
Do I consider wages in Gilford to be above average?I don't know.
The competitive labor market is one factor that goes into the bottom line salary received. Other factors - to name just a few - include the total compensation / benefit package, union constraints, and the qualifications / education level that the town associates with each position. Salary and benefits are the single most expensive line item in hundreds of thousands of businesses (and towns) across the country. It's a fact - but this fact does not independently signal that salaries or benefits at an individual company (or town) are too high. We should be demanding adequate explanations, support, and comparative analyses from town and school administrators, selectmen and school board members. If we're not satisfied with what they give us, then we should request a professionally authored, comprehensive analysis to tell us one way or the other.
"I don't know." Given that it became one of the most discussed items in Town, and he wants to be on the BudComm, he has not attempted any effort to find out for himself? Or, attempt to refute the numbers that have been publicly available for quite some number of months?
Lots of good sounding words, certainly sounds reasonable. However, another ducking of the issue. And with the answer amounting to "I'll let other people do the work or pay for it", I see that as an easy way out. He expanded the issue into total compensation and did not answer a direct question. Another non-answer.
Neither taxpayers nor employees should be expected to rely on a narrowly-focused, single-number comparision completed by someone with no expertise in salary / benefits / compensation - and inserted into the debate by the town's most policitically polarized committee.
So, "I don't know", but let me throw water on an real attempt to answer that question in order to change the focus from him to something else.
Once again, a reminder - it was a narrowly focused study - by request and by design, limited by time and resources. The question posed by the Chair of the BudComm was to compare salaries. Not total compensation, not health benefits, not dental benefits, not retirement benefits, not vacation benefits, not long or short term benefits. Just salaries. That's all that it was supposed to be. And that's all it was.
No, I do not have any large company expertise...other than what a small business owner has picked up on the job. After all, as UAL (his former company) found out, when costs outstrip revenues, bad things happen.
BTW, notice that his words attack me and attack the focus of the study. Notice, too, that he does not attack the veracity of the data. The data is publicly displayed on this site and obtained from public sites. So, let's attack the presenter, the focus of the study instead of what the data says.
Should the budget committee be involved with teacher contracts?No.
The town pays darn good money for professional administrators, and we go to the polls to elect a representative school board. This is their job that we've hired and elected them to do, and we should hold them accountable to do it. If I hire an attorney to represent me in court, and I'm dissatisfied with his performance, what would be my best course of action? Find another attorney, or call up my plumber and ask him to argue my case? I don't know about you, but I'd go with the first option.
His analogy with the lawyer and the plumber don't hold water - those are private sector positions and Mr. Dormody has the full right to hire and fire anyone he wishes.
In the part of the public sector, Mr. Dormody forgets that the mission of the Budget Committee is to evaluate, on behalf of the taxpayers by RSA, the budgets of BOTH the Town and the School Board. Why does his answer vary from the Town vs the SB? Both have professional management and both have elected representatives for oversight. Why one and not the other, Mr. Dormody?
Again, the mission of the BudComm is oversight over BOTH! A number of times this season I've heard that mantra - let the SB do what it is elected to do. For a person that wishes a seat on the BudComm, why does he wish to abdicate the responsibility it is chartered to maintain and to which he would be elected? Sure, the SB is elected, but so is the BudComm.
Should the budget committee be looking at retirement fund contributions of town employees? This falls in line with your first two questions. This has a growing impact on the costs in town, so as with salary and benefits, the budget committee has a duty and a right to demand that the town's solution be fully supported and explained. If the committee isn't satisfied with the support or explanations, they should request a professional review.
Again, Mr. Dormody quickly goes to the paid consultant route - why not dig in, learn, and save the town a few bucks? Why does he have this mind set that any review needs to be done by professionals only? He makes a point to show in his background that he is a smart guy - and there are other smart folks in Gilford too - why not take advantage of them?
Let me also add that while the BudComm has jurisdiction over all fiscal matters in Gilford (like the School Board), there is nothing the BudComm can do in this area and Mr. Dormody should know that (he attended the meetings). Right now, this is a State issue, and the RSAs state that if the public sector retirement funds do not meet their investment thresholds, they can legally raise the amounts that the towns pay (thus taxes) into the system.
The BudComm can do nothing in this area. However, it is a good thing that Evans Juris has spoken up and is trying to get those that pay the bill a seat at the retirement 'table".
