Rochester

Rochester council takes another stab at alternative OPC budget

By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER — The Rochester City Council passed a second alternative 2012 Older Persons Commission operating budget on to the OPC Governing Board in the hopes of reaching a compromise.

The three municipalities involved in the interlocal agreement still can’t agree on a budget, which was slated to take effect Jan. 1.

On Jan. 23, the Rochester City Council passed a second alternative OPC budget that would provide a 1 percent, one-time bonus to all OPC employees but eliminate step increases, reduce payments in lieu of health care benefits from $8,400 to $3,000, and maintain the previously agreed upon pension program.

The budget approval process began in October, when the Rochester City Council rejected the originally proposed 2012 OPC operating budget — which was approved by the OPC Governing Board, as well as both the Rochester Hills City Council and the Oakland Township Board of Trustees. Rochester officials balked due to concerns over salary increases, a new pension plan and a payment in lieu of an increase in health care benefits.

After the OPC Governing Board failed to come up with a compromise that all parties could agree to, the Rochester City Council prepared an alternative budget that eliminated the 1 percent, across-the-board pay increase, the step increases, and the payments in lieu of health care benefits, but maintained the new pension program. The proposal, which also directed that the money saved in making the change be put toward reducing the fees in all nontravel OPC programs and the OPC’s Meals on Wheels program, was rejected by Rochester Hills and Oakland Township.

Council member Steve Sage said he made the motion to pass the new alternative budget as a compromise in the hopes of moving past this issue.

The council again stressed the importance for all parties to compromise, adding that the council has no intention of pursing a lawsuit against the OPC, which is currently operating without an approved budget, in violation of the interlocal agreement.

“I think this is a really good plan, and I hope that we can move forward,” said Council member Cathy Daldin.

Council member Dave Zemens said Sage’s proposal is a big step toward a compromise situation that doesn’t give everybody what they wanted.

“Nobody is really happy, but maybe people can be happy enough and we can move past this,” he said.

Council member Ben Giovanelli said he wishes he were optimistic that this could be a positive step toward coming to an agreement on the budget, but based on history, he isn’t.

“I really do hope I’m proven wrong, but I do get the sense that we’re negotiating with a party that doesn’t want to negotiate, and it’s unfortunate,” he said.

Mayor Stuart Bikson said he’s been advocating, both to the council and to the OPC board that everyone come to a compromise.

“I think this is a pretty good compromise. Again, nobody is happy — I’m not happy, I assume the OPC board won’t be happy, but I think people need to show leadership and vote and move on,” he said.

Bikson, along with council members Daldin, Giovanelli, Sage and Zemens, voted to passed the alternative budget. Council member Kim Russell, whose mother, Marye Miller, is the executive director of the OPC, abstained from the vote despite the majority of the council voting against her being able to do so, which City Attorney Jeffrey Kragt said was a violation of the City Charter. He said a motion has to be passed unanimously in order for a council member to abstain from a vote, and only she and Zemens voted to allow her to abstain. Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Cuthbertson was absent from the meeting.

Kragt said that if a council member w-ants to abstain from a vote, he or she needs to abstain from the entire conversation.

Despite Kragt’s opinion, Russell said she feels she can speak on the OPC issue as a whole, but not on a vote of something very specific, like amendments to the OPC budget.

“I recused myself because this is a conflict. Am I going to recuse myself on the whole subject of OPC? Absolutely not,” she said. “It does become very personal when they are attacking the leadership of a director that has done a fantastic job, and yes, I will defend that, whatever the cost is for me.”

Bikson said he feels it’s “inappropriate that somebody uses their City Council position to advocate for pay increase for family members.”

“There is nothing I can do about that. Council member Russell was elected here and has her right to say that, whether I think it’s inappropriate or not, but I do not have to go along to vote to (allow her) to recuse herself on that, that’s my vote,” he said.

Bikson asked OPC Governing Board Chairman Jack Dalton, who was present at the meeting but did not speak, to put the alternative budget on the agenda for the next OPC Board meeting, which is at 4 p.m. Feb. 2.

If city and township officials fail to resolve the budget issue, the OPC may possibly need to close its doors until an agreement can be reached, according to Kragt. He said that if the OPC tried to spend money without an approved budget, the OPC would potentially be in violation of the interlocal agreement, as well as Michigan’s Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act — at which point the Attorney General’s Office could be notified.

Many on the council said it’s clear the budget approval process is broken and needs to be fixed so it doesn’t become a recurring issue. In an effort to come to a resolution, the council also voted in favor of forming a subcommittee to look into reviewing the language of interlochal agreement.

“The interlochal agreement provides no opportunity to resolve a conflict between the three municipalities. It simply provides no resolution,” City Manager James Vettraino said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mary Beth Almond at malmond@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1060.