SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

March 25, 2021

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/30/21

In this edition:

*Wages of County Employees

*Did You Know?

*Wages of County Employees

I think it is important for both county employees and the public to have total transparency when it comes to the budget. That includes how we determine wages for county employees.

Obviously, this can be a touchy subject. Employees work hard, and deserve to be well-compensated. Taxpayers deserve to know what we are proposing and why. Both groups deserve to be heard on the matter.

The process is always a challenge. Unfortunately, because of the bad faith arguments made by Supervisor Rettig, the process is even more difficult. So I am going to try to lay out all the facts here. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.

Johnson County has about 500 employees. Just under half of them are represented by a union (bargaining, AKA union) and half are not (non-bargaining). Union employees fall into one of six bargaining units, three represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and three represented by Public Professional and Maintenance Employees (PPME). AFSCME represents Ambulance, SEATS, and Social Services; PPME represents the Sheriff’s Office, Secondary Roads, and Administrative Units.

There was a big change to this recently. Chapter 20 of Iowa Law changed to require bargaining units to recertify more frequently. The Johnson County Admin Unit, represented by PPME, voted to decertify. So they no longer exist as a union. That means the 60 or so people they represented move from bargaining to non-bargaining status. Johnson County now has five bargaining units instead of six.

Interestingly, Johnson County had a longstanding tradition of “mirroring” the Admin Unit when it came to pay and benefits for non-bargaining employees. For example, say the Admin Unit got a 3% raise and had to contribute an additional $5/month to insurance premiums. The Board would typically then increase non-bargaining pay by that same 3%, and increase the employee insurance contribution by that same $5. This was a longstanding practice that dates back to well before I became a Supervisor.

Over the years, I brought up the issue of “mirroring” several times. In many ways, it was taken for granted by non-bargaining employees. That always chapped me a bit. Union employees had hammered the agreement out at the bargaining table. Nonunion employees simply benefit from the results. And there was/is no law saying we HAD to couple the two. We could give non-bargaining employees more or less than the Admin Unit negotiated. And there may be times where I would choose giving them something less. (That has not happened.) I can definitely tell you I would never vote to give them more. That would be an unforgivable slap in the face to the union employees. I would work like hell against the reelection of anyone who ever made such a vote.

(Some private employers have attacked my union connections. I am a proud member of AFT-716, and a voting delegate to the Iowa City Federation of Labor. I do not hide it; I am a union supporter. People knew this when I got elected. I ran on my union experience, in much the same way a CEO might tout their experience cutting budgets.)

So, now that there is no Admin Unit, there is nothing to mirror. We could simply choose a different bargaining unit and say we are going to mirror it, but I think that would be a mistake. I think we are going to need to look at the results of all our contracts, and vote accordingly.

So what can we expect for the next fiscal year, FY22? As usual, there are things to consider on both sides. Despite COVID, unemployment in Johnson County is quite low. On the other hand, we know several people are simply not willing or able to seek work until the virus is under control. Johnson County staff members did a fantastic job of ensuring we collected everything we could in terms of CARES Act funding and FEMA claims for the derecho. So these huge increased costs have largely been reimbursed. And you can just look around and see that builders and lenders are still optimistic regarding growth.

In addition, county employees stepped up BIG TIME during COVID and the derecho. They did whatever was needed, without complaint. We really, truly have a great group of employees. It is a cliché, but I want this group in my foxhole.

On the other hand, there are also a multitude of reasons leading us to believe that FY22 calls for caution when considering wage increases. The tax growth estimate for FY22 is 3.5%. Compare that to 4.7% in FY21, 4.1% in FY20, and 7.5% in FY19. This is the worst revenue year Johnson County has had in a long time.

There are indications that revenues may continue to be tight in the future. Some restaurants and retail outlets are unlikely to reopen. Going forward, many businesses and every rental properties will be appealing their assessments. Appeals typically result in some level of a drop in value – therefore a drop in revenue. In addition, the Iowa Legislature is dedicated to ensuring that rich people avoid property taxes.

We also need to look at how county employees are currently compensated. Johnson County has what is called a “comparability group” for the purposes of comparing wages and benefits. This is a legally established peer group by which we are compared. Our comparability group includes ourselves, Linn, Scott, Black Hawk, Dubuque, and Clinton Counties. Traditionally, Johnson County wages have always been at the top of our comparability group. I am fine with us being at the top. The question is, by how much?

Employees always want to be compared to the University. Salaries are generally higher there. But the fact of the matter is, we simply cannot pay what the UI pays. If we did, we would need to lay off scores of employees, and services would suffer. It would be bad for everyone.

We often hear from private business owners who complain that the county pays employees too well. They tell us they cannot compete with our salaries, let alone a very good insurance plan and the IPERS retirement program. In addition, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for our area sits at about 1%, and has for some time. When inflation is only 1%, a 3% raise seems much larger.

How do county employees rank in terms of wages? The median household income in Johnson County is $61,000. That is per household, not per working individual. You need to go all the way down to our 135^th ranked job classification to find an entry-level, non-bargaining county salary that falls below this median family income. There are only 156 jobs classifications in total, and the lowest paying position is $55,037 – only $6,000 below the median household income. And remember, the county wages are a single income, not a household. In other words, Johnson County employees do quite well relative to the rest of our county’s residents. In addition, as mentioned, county employees have an excellent and very low-cost health plan, and an excellent and very low-cost retirement plan. Both are far superior to what is available on the private market.

Wages and benefits are by far the largest piece of the county budget. If Supervisors put too much into wages, there are preventative maintenance projects that will be delayed, vehicle and equipment purchases that will be delayed, and training that will be cut. New hires will not get approved. So employee raises are not the only thing affected by this lack of revenue.

Remember, we have 3.5% growth. In the last year of the recent contracts, employees got a 2.25% COLA plus an average of 1.8% merit pay. That totals a 4.05% increase in compensation. FY22 revenues simply do not merit 4.05% for both bargaining and non-bargaining employees. Revenues are 3.5%.

(A brief aside on the CPI: For the length of our contracts, which have been in effect a long time, CPI has never approached 4.05% in any year of the contract. In fact, most years it has been a quarter of that.)

That is a lot of background. Let’s get to the point. Last year, our non-bargaining staff received 4.05%. Supervisor Rettig wanted to do that again this year. I recommended, and the rest of my colleagues agreed, that we set non-bargaining employee compensation at 2.75% for FY22. Contrary to the criticism, I feel that a 2.75% increase is pretty fair, especially when the CPI is 1%.

Again, we did not know what the unions would be getting when we chose this amount. Union negotiations JUST wrapped up, about a month after our budget had to be published. (Yes, it is bad timing!) Negotiations went exceedingly well! Our union employees know the County is a good faith partner, and they are responded in turn. Negotiations were friendly, and went quite quickly.

In the Ambulance, SEATS, and Social Services Units, AFSCME agreed to 5-year contracts. The first year is a 2% increase, followed by 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, and 3% in year five. In the Secondary Roads Unit, PPME agreed to the same 5-year contract; 2, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3. In the Sheriff’s Office unit, PPME agree to a three-year contract at 2.75, 3, and 3.25. Considering that I had no knowledge how this would turn out when I suggested 2.75% for non-bargaining employees, I feel really good about my proposal. It was clearly in the ballpark.

Hopefully, you can see by reading this that agreeing upon wages for county employees is hard. There is a lot to consider. There are bound to be hurt feelings. I do not take any of this lightly.

That is why I get so pissed off at Supervisor Rettig. She does not negotiate in good faith. She drops rhetorical bombs – most full of lies. Then when confronted on it, she hangs up. Trust me, I would LOVE to debate this with her in public, on the record. But she would never agree to terms that actually allow me to speak. And as usual, 4/5 Supervisors came together to do the right thing. Just know, as you consider all of this, that she is completely disingenuous.

There are no perfect answers. I hope you know I have given you the best I’ve got, even if you aren’t satisfied. And I hope this explanation has given you a glimpse into how county employee wages are determined.

*DID YOU KNOW? The total of 500 employees includes only permanent, full-time positions. There are several temporary positions in County government – mostly in elections.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

March 18, 2021

Mid-March marks one year since Johnson County first responded and reacted to COVID-19. It is not much of an anniversary. Dozens of our fellow residents are dead, and others face lifelong health consequences. Still others suffered economic consequences. It has been a tough year.

March 10 was the first time the Board discussed COVID in a meeting; on March 17, we held an emergency meeting that closed County properties, sent employees to work from home, and took several additional significant steps. It is pretty amazing how quickly it all escalated. In retrospect, I wish we had known what to do a couple weeks earlier, when several county residents returned from an ill-fated Egyptian cruise. But hindsight is 20/20. We acted as quickly and decisively as we knew how.

In the course of this year, about 13,000 Johnson County residents got COVID, and about 75 Johnson County residents died from it. Both numbers are tragic. Both are better than some of our comparable counties because Johnson County residents took medical advice seriously, and masked up.

I remain troubled by the cavalier attitude many take toward those 75 deaths. Unfortunately, it demonstrates the callous disregard we have for our seniors. Imagine the outrage if 75 children were killed. Or 75 college students. The response would be much different.

It has been a very tough year. But we are almost there. Thousands of county residents have been vaccinated. More are getting the vaccine every day. Hang in there!

For some reason, every time I serve as Chair of the Board, we get an emergency/disaster or two! I was Chair for the ’08 floods. I was Chair in ’12 when we experienced the worst drought in 30 years, a humanitarian disaster at Regency Mobile Home Park, and a summer of stressed relations between minority residents and police. I was Chair in ’16 when we got another round of floods, plus a rash of gun violence. Then came ’20, with the COVID pandemic, BLM protests, and derecho.

I don’t know; perhaps I am jinxed. I can only say that I have done my best to get us through each of these situations. I hope this COVID anniversary finds you and yours safe and healthy.

Elizabeth Warren is back, and she is bringing her Wealth Tax! I think this is fantastic! One of the biggest problems we face in America is that the ultra-wealthy make unbelievable profits and do not contribute to the common good.

Warren’s Wealth Tax adds a two-cent tax – that’s right, two cents – to the wealth of the richest people in the world. There may be no one in Johnson County who would be subject to the tax; it is unlikely anyone here is that rich. Perhaps there are a few families in Iowa, but not many.

99.9% of Americans pay no new tax under this plan. From $50 million to a billion, it goes up two cents. After a billion, it goes up to 4 cents. And over ten years, this would raise $3 trillion dollars.

What would $3 trillion buy? A lot. Picture free preschool for every child. Picture two years of free college for whoever wants it. Plus much, much, much more. America needs these things. Bezos and his buddies can afford it. It is time they paid their fair share.

After spending many years as a part of many membership organizations, it strikes me that there is a formula for success. Unfortunately, there are built in roadblocks to making success a reality.

1. Workhorses. These are the people who devote the most time and energy. They tend to have a fair amount of experience, but not so much that they have become set in their ways. It is easy for organizations to wear the Workhorses out.

2. New Blood. These are new people with fresh energy and fresh ideas. They can give the organization the jolt it needs, but they may not understand the history, rules, and lessons learned. It is easy for organizations to underutilize New Blood and ignore their ideas.

3. Veterans. These are the people who used to be workhorses, but have moved into a different role. They may not be workhorses, but they maintain the history, rules, and lessons learned. They can be resistant to the fresh ideas brought in by the New Blood. It is easy for organizations to push Veterans aside, and forget the lessons they have already learned.

It is easy to think of this in terms of age, and often age does play a part. But older people can be New Blood, and younger people can be Veterans. It just depends upon the group. Additionally, some people move between the groups, which can be very helpful in terms of understanding each other.

And understanding each other is a key. Each of these three groups is important. If you are in one group, it becomes easy to resent the others. Do not allow yourself to fall into this trap! The three groups need to communicate their feelings.

If you have all three of these elements in your organization, you have a great base. The challenge is striking a proper balance. In my experience, you need to strike a balance that is something like 50% Workhorses, 20% New Blood, and 30% Veterans. This is an organization that works, is open to new ideas, and understands its roots. If you can strike this balance, you will do well!

Have you ever looked at a map and noticed the small indentation on the far west side of Johnson County?

Look at an Iowa map, and focus on the horizontal row of counties that includes Johnson. You’ll notice small jags in their western boundaries. These are called correction lines, and were created to fix the fact that straight lines do not lay out perfectly on our spherical earth. So every so many miles, the surveyors would do a “correction” of approximately a few hundred feet. It is just enough to show up on a detailed map.

Our correction line falls on the border of Hardin and Washington Townships, and makes Washington Township slightly thinner than the townships to its north.

This mapping quirk also exists in other midwestern states. Iowa even has a town (Correctionville) in Woodbury County named for the procedure.

*DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County has fared much better than our peer Iowa Counties when it comes to COVID deaths. Polk County has had one death per 848 population. In Linn County it is 1:702. Scott County 1:800. Black Hawk County 1:450. In Johnson County, the ratio is 1:2,013.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

March 11, 2021

Happy St. Patrick’s Day on March 17! St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. While not an “official” holiday, this day has long been considered a holiday by my Irish family.

March 17 is a Wednesday this year, but we will still find time to celebrate correctly! J Meanwhile, I hope each and every one of you is touched by a little luck o’ the Irish!

*With 23 percent of the population of Celtic ancestry, Massachusetts has a higher proportion of residents of Irish descent than any other state, edging out New Hampshire (20 percent) and Rhode Island (18 percent). The remaining New England states -- Connecticut, Vermont and Maine -- also rank among the top 10 in this category, as do Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Montana.

*New York City has more residents of Irish descent than any city in the world, including Dublin! Boston, however, has the largest percentage of Irish residents of any large American city.

*22 - Gallons of beer consumed per capita by Americans annually. (The equivalent of 176 pints per year.) I used to bring that average way up. Now I bring it way down!

*9 - Number of places in the US which share the name of Dublin, Ireland's capital. Dublin, OH was the most populous, at 31,392, followed closely by Dublin, CA at 29,973.

*There are many more Americans of Irish origin than there are Irish in Ireland. (36 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry in 2008; the population of Ireland was 4.4 million at the time.)

March 17 holds a special place in my heart that goes beyond St. Patrick’s Day. That was also the birthday of my late father, Bob Sullivan.

Dad was a proud union man, Hawkeye fan, and Irishman. We were father and son, but also best friends. I can honestly say he was probably the most fun person I have ever known.

Unfortunately, he left this world much too soon, and never got the chance to meet any of his nine grandchildren. I miss him every single day, but especially on St. Paddy’s Day.

So, if you are looking for an extra toast on St. Patrick’s Day, allow me to suggest that you raise a glass to Bob Sullivan.

Much has already been written about the trial of Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri, but I feel the need to add my two cents. It is a national embarrassment. We all know that she was singled out because of her skin color, and rather than apologizing, local authorities just keep doubling down.

Conveniently, police body cams were not turned on. (I think the law should be that the first time a camera is not activated, it is a warning. The second time is a suspension. The third time is automatic termination.) If a camera doesn’t work, the officer should be required to call it in immediately, and return to HQ as soon as possible to get a working unit.

I am sure officials in Des Moines and Polk County feel this prosecution will have a chilling effect. It will not. The resolve of the press and the public when it comes to Sahouri should not be underestimated. This is the stuff of Iran or Russia. Bobby Kaufmann should focus his free speech police this direction, don’t you think? Pretend Polk County is a State University!

Des Moines clearly needs a new City Council, and Polk County clearly needs a new County Attorney. This whole thing is shameful.

The Johnson County Democratic Party made national news recently with a 39-11 vote to move from caucuses to a Presidential primary. (It should be noted that the motion was silent on the issue of going first in the process.)

The argument is simple: in order to participate in the caucuses, you need to be at a set location, at a set time, and be prepared to stay for several hours. It is crowded, hot, you can’t hear, and it is often not fully accessible. There is no system of absentee voting, so anyone who cannot be there for any reason is excluded. The process is clearly undemocratic when compared to a primary election.

In my mind, this is a no-brainer. Led by Bobby Kaufmann, the Iowa Legislature just passed a horrible voter suppression bill. Democrats here have complained, and rightly so. But how can we oppose Kaufmann’s horrible bill and still support the caucuses? Both make voting difficult. The Democratic Party should never find itself on the side of making it harder to vote.

Because Iowa, Georgia, and many other states are gutting voting rights, we desperately need the US House and Senate to pass HR1, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. If that does not happen, we are looking at the rebirth of Jim Crow when it comes to voting. America will be set back 150 years.

Again, how can Democrats in Iowa argue for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, while at the same time supporting an undemocratic caucus process? We cannot, in good conscience.

Trust me, I understand the luster of the Iowa Caucuses. I have written at length about my own participation, dating back to the very first one, when I was just a kid. I love the caucuses. I have fond memories of the caucuses. But it is time for them to go.

Let me also comment briefly on the idea of “first.” Going first has been fun. It has allowed me to get to hang out with Dick Gephardt, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and countless other well-known politicians. I have met hundreds of really cool campaign staff people. So it has been good for me personally. But has it helped Iowa?

ISU economist Dave Swenson has pointed out that the caucuses have surprisingly little economic impact. (Most media are owned by out-of-state corporations that do little to recycle ad dollars through Iowa’s economy.) More importantly, are we better organized? I would say no. I believe the caucus takes our eye off the ball. We are worried about being first, when we should be worried about organizing.

I agree with the vote of the Johnson County Democratic Party. It is time to replace the Iowa Caucuses with a Presidential primary.

*DID YOU KNOW? Melissa and I first met at the Dublin Underground in downtown Iowa City in 1996. Definitely the Luck O’ the Irish!

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

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