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Citizens and VIB were Right
By Robert Schussel Ph.D
6/29/09
This was originally written as a letter to Ron York of POLICEPAY.NET
Ron Would you please publish this.
When you started writing about Vallejo you said the bar was too low for Bankruptcy and were critical of the analysis that citizens had posted on WWW.IBVALLEJO.COM as overstating shortfalls etc.
It now seems that they were correct and that the Union propaganda that the City had money was incorrect
What may be more important is the price that the Citizens of Vallejo are paying for the Unions unwillingness to help. (Next year, entry level Police will make $90K and with 2.5 years of service at least $102K), inept City Councils ( Gave raises to the VPD even though budget shortfall is at least $10M to $15M) and a FIRE Union that wants to "destroy" Vallejo (no matter what the price).
Within the next 18 months staffing for Police will fall from a high of 156 to the low 70s, 4 of the 8 Fire Houses will be closed and almost every City Service in the General Fund will be stopped or severely cut--Meals on Wheels ,Community Pool ,Library,most non profit community groups etc.
To date, current Public Safety Employees have not experienced any meaningful cuts--they have had FREE health insurance ( up to $14K), (Although last week Vallejo Fire Employees will start contributions to their healthcare under the pendency plan--but it could be rescinded) retire at age 50 with 90% of pay, get some of the highest wages and total compensation in the US even though we are not a wealthy city.
Your readers will probably dismiss this letter as the rantings of the Public that doesn't really understand and who is anti Union.
The truth is that in Vallejo the Unions have controlled the City Government for over 20 years. The Unions have lost sight of the symbiotic relationship that needs to exist. They are killing my City and some of the personal vendettas exhibited by the Unions illustrate how misguided they have become.
If your readers really cared they would tell their brothers in Vallejo to settle with the City (pay give backs and start paying some of the cost of their health insurance) to allow both the Unions and the City to survive our current fiscal crisis.
As to every city employee being "pissed off at the City" this is not true. There is a lot of resentment towards the Public Safety Unions for putting their own interests ahead of everyone else.
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Primal Scream 
