Appearing on conservative AM radio this morning, Geissinger stated he is "trying to rally the troops" and wants "support from the taxpayer". Host Bobby Gunther Walsh responds, ""You need the taxpayer to say, 'Welcome to the real world'!"
Geissinger goes on to complain that the average benefit cost per employee is $24,000 per year.
Something's wrong with that number. That translates to $58,200,000 per year in a County that only brings in about $93 million.
Geissinger acknowledges that these reductions "could" hurt some families. "Could it adversely affect some of these families?" he asks. "Yes, it absolutely could."
In the meantime, Executive Brown has scheduled a news conference on Thursday, 11 AM, at the Human Services Building, where he will release details of next year's budget.
You can listen to the interview yourself below:
29 comments:
Spin doctor at work
Is it true that roughly $ 58 million of the $ 93 million goes to benefits?
I believe Glenn's number may be misleading bc it probably fails to include the amount of mounts the county gets back from the state and Feds for compensation packages that they reimburse.
time the cry baby unions learned about the realities of life
I want real, hard numbers.
I'm tied of being hustled and lied to. I don't trust Democrats OR Republicans OR Indepenedents. And I want the ENTIRE Ruling Class (at all levels - local, state & federal) to know up front that I, for one, and sick and tired of ALL their bullshit.
So, WHO has real hard numbers that are actually authentic / genuine and how will "they" ever be able to convince We The People that "they" are not just ANOTHER phony Politician with fill-in-the-blank ambitions?
The county doesn't exist to provide for county workers. It exists to provide basic services to county citizens. Having been downsized three times in my life, I sympathize with anyone facing budget cuts or job elimination. It sucks and recovering from it is difficult. I know - three times over. But it's the world we live in and nobody is immune.
I am a county employee and ended up here because of job downsizing, job eliminations from other employers. Let me tell you we do provide services to county citizens, in some of the most deplorable conditions possible. We pay for our benefits, we pay into our pension, it is not something that is handed to us. yes, i want real numbers too, there is no transparency in any level of government and it needs to stop now!!!
just so you know glenn we are also TAXPAYERS! you have it in for the employee to ...when you get on the radio to complain ...to encourage people to show up , first get your facts straight!
Hey County employees, you helped elect the teabaggers to county government. I guess now you will face that reality. Too bad voting means less to you than watching TV.
I want real, hard numbers.
Then do some research. The finance reports are all available on the county website. Glenn is correct. Look for yourself. The surplus has clearly dwindled. The people voted against tax increases last year. Hold that line.
as a person who did vote for john brown I am very ,very disappointed ,I falsely thought john brown actually gave a dam about the county employees ...wow was I wrong! shame on me !!! the county ex. race isn't a big deal out here in the real world ... those are the facts check it out! I hope he discovers he has a conscience!
"the county ex. race isn't a big deal out here in the real world ..."
How about County Council??
You also voted for the tea party republicans for county council. If you didn't vote shut up! You don't give that much thought do you? Also Peg is such a nice lady. Now she will vote to cut you off at the knees. If any of you had payed the slightest attention to the last county race you would have learned what the people running were going to do. You ignored it and now you will suffer the consequences. County Council passes the budget. Without five votes Brown can't make very much happen. You guys are just dummies and deserve what you get.
wow!!! get a hold of yourself there buddy ...you certainly are one angry person ...the answer is simple raise taxes ...raise taxes !!!
Your boy Lamont McClure took a no tax pledge when he ran for county executive. He stated the county needs no new taxes for four years.
So ask him how to do it. Is he a liar?
12:53, I question very much whether all 5 Rs will do Brown's bidding and adopt a budget that hurts the worker.
1:07, McClure is certainly not my boy. But to be hair, he took a no-tax-hike pledge as the next Executive. He is not responsible for any of the mismanagement coming from Brown, and has in fact worked against it. Yes, he has over-reached, but he has been there to point out what is wrong. Now the question is whether a tax hike can be avoided after one year of Brown.
"Do some research"
Ever since my boss passed away suddenly as a result of a heart attack last spring, which meant the company I worked for closed up shop, I have been busy "picking myself up by my bootstraps."
Been doing odd-jobs all summer long just to keep a roof over my head and the power company off my case --- when I wasn't busy standing in lines filling out employment applications, that is.
It appears as if I have completed my arduous mission. It appears as if I have found full-time employment starting next Monday. Good for me.
Point here is pretty point blank and simple to understand : I've had enough on my plate already without having to audit Northampton County's finances for myself.
I have to accept that there is not ONE honest Elected Politican / Bureaucrat who can cut me some slack and just go ahead and release hard numbers that are real and not made up (or "spun", etc)?
And I have to be told that I have to be the one to do all the applicable research myself?
REALLY???
(PS - I did not take one dime of "Government Assistance" this summer. And I'm very proud of that. Damn straight I had to "cut costs" and make "tough choices" this summer.)
Since you are anonymous, nothing you say has any credibility, even if true. But congrats if what you say is, in fact, true.
Let me add I know someone who can break down the numbers and give themn to me straight. I have asked him to do that. Not sure he wll bc he's a busy guy, but I hope so. Incidentally, he is not buying what Geissinger is selling.
Plain and Simple what Geissinger is saying here is spin. As you pointed out Bernie, the 24,000/benefit package is distorted. It is not costing the county taxpayer even close to this amount. Let me explain.
A human service employee's salary and benefits are paid for by the State at 95% and 5% from the county. So an example would be a casework salary at 40,000 and a benefit package around 15,000 would be total at 55,000. The State is paying 52,250 of the salary and benefit they receive. The employee of the county is paying if single 4% of their salary for health benefits currently and 5% for if they have family coverage. Let's take the 4% and that is 1600. Total between the State reimbursement and the employee is 53,850. This employee is only costing Northampton County 1,150 dollars a year!
These numbers are facts. The county has budgeted 14,200/employee for benefits this coming year as you will see tomorrow. The single employee is already paying 1600 into the 14,200. Dollar wise the single employee is already contributing over 11% into their own plan cost if they use that much as the county is self pay.
The numbers is human services are not adding up to say that the employee there is a drain or a factor into a 14 million dollar deficit!
These employees are the ones setting up the taxpayers and their families with needed services! To keep costs down and the public and community healthy and stable.
So hopefully this provides some insight to all how read and to the people like me who are tired of the political games.
if ohare wre not such a hypocrite, it may be belived that he is a bleeding heart for the unions and county workers. facts are that since stoffa left, his ocean of illegally leaked county info has has turned into a warped dry sponge
so, unlike what he did in the gracedale saga, he'll pander to the unions in hopes there will be a few stupid suckers who will use him as the " go to " guy, so he can get the gossip and info that is no longer available to him.
but he is so pathetic, that no one buys his BS, and no one gives a shit what he thinks
This comment comes from someone who wishes this blog were irrelevant. In fact, since Stoffa left, I have had MORE original stories than I did when he was in office. People are so upset at what is going on that they talk to me. It's become a candy store, in case you haven't noticed. I get stories from all kinds of sources. You are operating under the stupid idea that I rely on access for stories. Nobody who wants to know what truly is going on is going to rely on access as a basis for a story.
As for my attitude towards the county worker, I have always supported them. When two women were fired for exchanging naughty emails during Stoffa's tenure, I stood up for them. When workers were getting sick from construction dust early in Stoffa's tenure, I stood up for them. When a worker was summarily fired late last year without due process, I stood up for her.
I hate to see people bullied, something that you, as a bully, hate.
I stood against the unions when they got together, formed a lynch mob and went after the HR Director and tried to get her fired. I thought and still think that was a terrible thing to do, a real low point in this County. To their credit, most of those workers now agree with me.
As for Gracedale, i do not and have never hidden from my belief it should be sold. But my quarrel was never with the people working there. In fact, after seeing a Family Fest, I gained an appreciation of them i wish I had before. But there is a small group of people who do not even work for the county, but were spreading all sorts of disinformation. People like Mary Ann Schmoyer and Jack D'Alessandro. I called them the Gracedale Goons and stand by that today.
Don? DON draper?
you accused one worker of filing 38 false affidavits in an attempt to invalidate the signatures. You eviserated all the employees who stood outside gracedale collecting signatures. You filmed them, and demeaned them all. You came up with all kinds of accusations directed at all the union members opposing the sale. You tried to have Jill fired for shaking hands with Justice James at the Parsons Victory party. You accused these workers of stealing county time. Refer back to your endless hit pieces that wrote pure hatred about Gracedale and anyone supporting it, mostly the workers, and then come back and say you are not the sleeziest hypocrite there is. You lost your ability to pander to the unions....give it up...everyone sees through your bullshit. Your horse lost. Get used to it
The above comment is from cRaZy Mezzacuckoo. She is a common scold, not an employee, but let me answer. I accused one worker of circulating 38 false affidavits and was proved correct. Those signatures were all thrown out. I never filmed Gracedale workers for collecting Gracedale petition signatures. I did film members of the LV Labor Council, not county employees, who were on couty property circulating for candidates in partisan races. I never tried to get Mancini fired for the parsons' party, but did think Longenbach had demonstrated enough disloyalty to Stoffa by that point to be shown the door. I did not start the Gracedale discussion, nor did i complain about the result of the referendum. It is the will of the people. You are unbalanced and are driven by pure hatred, nothing else.
Now, a judge has ordered you to serve me with the amended complaint and broef you filed in your lawsuit against me. Serve it already. The Order was entered over a week ago at a hearing in which you refused to appear, as usual. By now, you have a copy of the court's order. Start following it.
An average cost of $24K per employee is quite high, compared to the real world. I am familiar with health insurance premiums, and a very good plan costs around $18K for a family plan, and that includes dental.
My suspicion is that Geissinger is including as a "benefit" mandated things like workers comp, unemployment, etc.
Sell Gracedale...no tax increase needed.
Bernie @9:07,
You're probably right. Worker's compensation insurance is significantly more expensive in the public sector.
Photo of Bobby Gunther Walsh on the Phone with Geissinger:
http://www.carlabraham.com/BobbieGuntherWalshWeb.jpg
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