06-10-1996 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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6— Focus News -- Thies. May 9; 1996 Opinio Page 16 3 COh1Ai13NTARv 4 Health depts.' merger shifts tax burden to the suburbs BRENDA'hIioMA.s On April 12, an editorial appeared in the Pioneer Press trum- peting the benefits of a proposed merger of the Ramsey County and St. Paul public health departments. The headline read, "1lealth departments' plan deserves support" I strongly disagree with this conclusion. What is being pro- posed is not a merger at all. It is ajoint powers agreement, ate main provisions of which are as follows. • It maintains both the county and city public health agencies. • It provides for the contracting of public health employees between the county and city ( "it is agreed that nothing contained in this agreement is intended or should be construed as consti- tuting either party as the employee of the other party for any purpose or in any manner whatsoever'). • It conveys a city -owned public health building to the county. The building must continue to be utilized for public health pur- poses. If the agreement is terminated the building reverts to the city's ownership. • It provides for oversight by a 21- member John Community 1 health Services Advisory Committee, which will recommend budget and service decisions. At least 13 members must repre- sent the city of St. Paul. • It preserves all city public health jobs which are to be vacat- ed only through attrition. • It shifts the S1 million costs of contracting for the city's employees to suburban taxpayers, which represents a one -half percent tax increase in the suburbs and an equal lax reduction in the city. With this joint- powers agreement as a launching poinl,,eventu- ally when the last city public health employee has resigned or • • retired, those vacated positions may be filled within the coun- ty's public health department as county employees. When that day arrives, a true merger of the two agencies might then be accomplished. Why is 0 true merger not being proposed right now? For the same reason the county and city library systems, the county and city public safety agencies and public works deparuncnts are not contemplated for merging. Because St. Paul city employees arc paid more than their counterparts in the county or the suburbs. This despite due fact that suburban municipalities in Ramsey County, and Ramsey County itself, employ union workers and their elected officials must negotiate with bargaining units 011 wages and benefits just as St. Paul must. St. Paul elected offi- cials are responsible for this disparity, not the unions. Therefore, to be reasonable, any employment contract with the city should provide compensation at the county's wage scale, not the city's. The mayor and St. Paul City Council would then be responsible for making up the "shortfall" from city revenues, or negotiating reductions with their bargaining units. The proposal before us entirely relieves city officials of this responsibility. It simply shifts S1 million in employee compen- sation to suburban taxpayers who largely do not receive the ser- vices of either public health agency. This cost shift will increase the taxes for suburban property owners one -half percent. On a suburban properly valued at $115,000, this amounts to a S10 increase, and on an equal - valued St. Paul property, a decrease of $12. To put this 31 million lax increase in perspective, I want to underscore one final point. The Ramsey County library .system is supported entirely by suburban taxpayers. Our heavily utilized libraries operate on an annual budget of $6 million, which is SI million less than is needed for inventory, infornation technology, and operations. In 2 recent survey of suburban Ramsey County residents, an overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that they would support a small increase in their property taxes to improve library services. Flow much revenue could be generated for our library system if we increased suburban taxes by one -half percent? - nearly 31 million. I would hesitate to impose 0 tax increase 00 suburban taxpay- ers even to improve library services, for which there is over- whelming support. I certainly would not vote in favor of a scheme that shifts the excessive costs of St. Paul's government to suburban taxpayers. 'Ibis is what the proposed public health merger would do. Indeed, it appears to be the proposal's sole intent. Brenda Thomns is a Ramsey County Commissioner