There’s good reason for the
Marin County Civil Grand Jury’s call for the county and Marin public agencies
to do more to inform the public about the costs of new labor contracts — before
they are signed.
The grand jury urged the
county and Marin cities to adopt an ordinance that would provide the public
with financial details regarding pay and benefits decisions in contract talks.
While our elected
representatives act on behalf of taxpayers, the skyrocketing taxpayer cost of
retiree benefits, and local tax measures those costs have generated,
understandably have triggered a call for a more open and transparent process.
Taxpayers should know the short- and long-term costs and benefits of those
contracts, before they are endorsed. After all, taxpayers are paying for those
decisions. Many feel their long-term obligation has not been part of the
equation in contract talks and that greater public transparency would help
correct that.
While elected representatives
have worried about short-term budget costs and on retaining, recruiting and
fairly rewarding local public workers, the unanticipated costs of those
contracts have been driven home with a host of local tax measures needed to
raise more revenue to prevent important and essential public services from
being cut.
The grand jury is urging
Marin agencies to adopt what is known as the Civic Openness in Negotiations, or
COIN. It even set a deadline — July 1, 2016 — for agencies to adopt the law.
The objective is to do a
better job of making sure taxpayers are not kept in the dark about important
fiscal decisions — ones they will pay for today and tomorrow.
COIN requires public agencies
to hire independent professionals to issue financial analyses of pay and
benefit proposals. Those reports are to be publicly available at least two
board meetings before they are scheduled to be approved.
The grand jury concluded that
currently public information needed to understand and respond to contract
changes is “minimal.”
“Prior to the agenda posting, little or no
detailed information is made public about the terms of the tentative agreement
or what it will cost,” the grand jury report said. “With no transparency, the
public is excluded from input until it is too late for a reasoned public
dialogue.”
Supervisors
have, individually, already agreed to provide financial estimates on contract
changes to the public long before those agreements are ratified. That is a
significant change, and other public agencies should follow their lead or
follow the grand jury’s recommendation.
June 13, 2015
Marin
Independent Journal
Editorial
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