The Face of The County Speaks

NorCo Council on the bench

Last night, Executive John Brown referred to the county workers as the "face of the County." That face was bright red last night over health care plan changes coming at the same time that Brown is telling workers he has no plan to give them any raises. Most of them are going backyards. Over 200 people crowded into Courtroom 1 to let Brown know he's wrong.

AFSCME agent Justus James

AFSCME union agent Justus James spoke on behalf of several of the bargaining units currently in negotiation with the County. He said he's "mad as hell," not just at he health care plan, but Brown's unwillingness to fill vacancies. He noted there are 16 vacancies at the jail, which is making life more dangerous for corrections officers. He noted there are 113 vacancies throughout the County, which Brown himself confirmed in a news conference on Wednesday.

"Is it the employees' fault that $62 million in the reserve fund went magically away?" he asked. He said that when Brown stated that the county worker is its most important asset, he had "hope for a new day." But instead, he's doing more than balancing his budget on the back of the employee, "We just got kicked in the tailbone. ... The employee can no longer afford to pay for the mistakes you've made."

One of the more disturbing speakers was Stacy [last name withheld], a 20-year County employee who has seen her income reduced every year since 2009. She's a single mother, drives a 13 year old truck, has no money to buy a newer car, and for the past year, has been forced to go to a food bank and stand in line for hours because she has no money to go grocery shopping, Her kids eat the old food from Giant.

Tabatha Gartner warns of an exodus

"Why does a 20-year County employee have to go to food banks?" she asked. "There is something wrong with this picture."

Shirley [last name withheld] works in the Revenue Office assisting delinquent taxpayers in making payment arrangements. She noted that Executive Brown had the money for a public relations consultant and other no-bid contracts, "but the county doesn't have money when it comes to us."

Her office is so short-staffed that she was recently forced to work alone. She was nervous and suddenly began shaking and decided she needed to leave for the day. Her Supervisor told her she would need a doctor's excuse, so she went to one who ordered her to stay home several days instead of the afternoon she intended to take off.

"We're understaffed, underpaid, and now, I'm drugged to work here," she complained.

Tabatha Gartner warned these health plan changes will lead to an exodus from Human Services, creating a need for new staff that has to be trained, which will result in a decline of service and lawsuits." It's like firing the entire coaching staff and expecting the team to have a winning season," she observed.

After hearing from both workers and Brown, Peg Ferraro suggested that there be meetings in smaller groups to see if management and employee can come to some middle ground.

""I believe in my heart we should leave everything alone," said Lamont McClure, especially after Bob Werner pointed to research showing the County's health plan falls below the level needed to be considered a Cadillac plan. McClure was also disturbed that Executive Brown would impose these changes while refusing to discuss raises or other benefits. Brown responded that the County's health care plan will become a Cadillac plan by 2018 at its current rate of spending.

If that happens, and no changes are made, the County will be forced to pay a $9.3 million excise tax.

Ken Kraft, in response to several pleas from workers, noted that Council has no authority to prevent Brown from making changes to his health plan. But he added that they do have authority over the budges, which will be introduced next month.

Holden, Dent Split on ObamaCare Rollback

In a 223-181 vote, the U.S. House voted yesterday to roll back a portion of a controversial health care overhaul  passed by Congress almost exactly two years ago. LV Congressman Charlie Dent supported the measure, which abolishes a 15-member Medicare advisory panel and caps medical malpractice pain and suffering awards at $250,000. Schuylkill County Democrat Tim Holden, whose Congressional District now includes half of Northampton County, voted No.

Called the PATH (Protecting Access to Healthcare) Act, it includes a Dent-offered amendment that protects ER physicians from medical liability. "The House passed my amendment to address the growing shortage of physicians and specialists willing to work in emergency rooms by extending liability coverage to trauma professionals," claimed Dent in a statement. "These professionals are required to make quick and sometimes risky decisions based on minimal information, exposing them to an increased likelihood of litigation. The enhanced liability coverage provided by my amendment to on-call and emergency physicians will ensure critical, timely and life-saving emergency and trauma care is available to Americans when and where it is needed most."

Dent also explained that he voted to abolish a 15-member Medicare advisory panel because its "very purpose is to save money by restricting access to healthcare for Medicare beneficiaries."

I saw no statement from Congressman Tim Holden, explaining his vote, but it's academic.It will go nowhere in the Senate.