City Jobs: Suburban Work Force
The city won a phyrric court case about its residency requirement. The state courts have ruled that the city can require its workforce to live in the city or lose their jobs. The city can do this even if 80% of its workforce is exempted by state laws from the residency requirements. The remaining 20% are not being unlawfully discriminated against.
Well, it's a start. Now we need to go after the state to roll back the exemptions for police, fire and sanitation workers. (That last one is a doozy--it means that the trash haulers can live wherver they want, but snowplow operators must live in the city. A department divided amongst itself.)
Union folks hate residency requirements and fight it incessantly, BUT THEY MUST BE MANDATORY AND APPLY TO ALL! The city can no longer afford to pay union-scale wages and benefits to folks who do not contribute to the city's tax base. Unions must realize that they are killing the goose that lays the unionized-plenty-of-overtime- mandated-benefits eggs. The Syracuse city budget is facing a multi-million dollar deficit because it is spending twice the amount annually it brings in through tax revenue. We cannot continue a system that pays Syracuse police more overtime than Rochester and Buffalo combined. Over 30 police officers earned over $100,000 last year.
So motor on home to Clay and B'ville and Manlius, you suburban-dwellers. But don't be so sure that your city job will be awaiting you at the end of your morning commute.
Well, it's a start. Now we need to go after the state to roll back the exemptions for police, fire and sanitation workers. (That last one is a doozy--it means that the trash haulers can live wherver they want, but snowplow operators must live in the city. A department divided amongst itself.)
Union folks hate residency requirements and fight it incessantly, BUT THEY MUST BE MANDATORY AND APPLY TO ALL! The city can no longer afford to pay union-scale wages and benefits to folks who do not contribute to the city's tax base. Unions must realize that they are killing the goose that lays the unionized-plenty-of-overtime- mandated-benefits eggs. The Syracuse city budget is facing a multi-million dollar deficit because it is spending twice the amount annually it brings in through tax revenue. We cannot continue a system that pays Syracuse police more overtime than Rochester and Buffalo combined. Over 30 police officers earned over $100,000 last year.
So motor on home to Clay and B'ville and Manlius, you suburban-dwellers. But don't be so sure that your city job will be awaiting you at the end of your morning commute.
