Politics & Policy

Officials look to consolidate services

County Executive Rob Astorino will host the county”™s Shared Municipal Service Expo ”™11 on Oct. 11, where county and municipal officials will discuss where government spending can be slashed by consolidating services.

“The goal really is to make county government and the municipal governments work harder by delivering services smarter and more efficiently and working to stabilize and lower taxes,” Astorino said.

He said that there are a variety of government agencies that may be unknowingly duplicating the work of one another, including in emergency services, public safety, environmental planning, public works and employee assistance programs, among other areas.

“The point is that if a service needs to be met, who can do it in the most efficient way? Instead of five agencies doing it, why isn”™t one doing it? The expo is aimed at providing information about the vast array of money-saving services that we can provide.”

PEF rejects contract

The 56,000-member Public Employees Federation, New York”™s second-largest public-employee union, recently rejected the state”™s five-year contract offer.

The state responded by saying that nearly 3,500 employees would be facing layoffs, with pink slips going out immediately. The PEF primarily represents professional and technical employees, while the larger Civil Service Employees Association ”“ which ratified a nearly identical agreement last month ”“ represents blue-collar workers.

“The members of the (PEF) have made their decision on a contract that would have protected them against the state needing to lay off their workers in order to achieve the required workforce savings passed as part of this year’s budget,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement, adding that he urges the union to reconsider the proposal.

The proposed contract called for three years of flat salaries and increased health care costs for employees, in addition to mandatory furloughs. The third year of the contract included a $1,000 signing bonus, followed by 2 percent raises in each of the last two years.

In exchange for accepting wage freezes and increased health care costs, the state promised under the proposal that there would be no layoffs for at least three years.

Slaughter named to post

The city of Peekskill announced the appointment of a new economic development specialist, James A. Slaughter, who has worked in both the public sector and private sector over the past 20 years.

Slaughter will assist specifically with key development projects that are under way in the city, including the redevelopment and revitalization of the downtown, lower South Street and riverfront areas.