City and state officials who thrive on secrecy were the winners -- and taxpayers and the public were left in the dark -- in a decision this week to keep contract proposals between the city and its largest union mum.
Allowing the media and the public in on negotiations would have encouraged a more-fair dialogue, allowed for better monitoring of public spending, and would have more effectively kept the community informed about the possibility of a potentially crippling strike.
But the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Administration ruled against those obvious advantages of open negotiations, instead deciding in favor of the city and of the State Bureau of Mediation Services. The two groups had asked that journalists, watchdog groups and citizens be kept out. (Disclosure: The News Tribune had petitioned to open the process.)
Well, fine then. But if the public can't be part of the process, can it at least expect that it wraps up quickly? The city and the state did argue, after all, that negotiations go more smoothly without outsiders. Both sides can speak more freely and can toss around ideas, whether they make it into the final agreement or not, they said.
A prompt resolution is critical. In these negotiations, time literally is money. A new contract is a cornerstone of the solution to Duluth's growing-every-day, $309 million retiree health-care liability. The city is in desperate need of eliminating retiree health-care benefits for future employees while receiving greater financial contributions from current employees and retirees to stem the massive debt. Smaller city unions -- including those that represent firefighters, supervisors and police officers -- already have reached such agreements. Only the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 500 of the city's more than 800 employees -- is still bargaining.
ADVERTISEMENT
And while it does, another cornerstone of Duluth's solution is working its way through the Minnesota Legislature.
The city needs state authorization to create an irrevocable trust fund through the State Board of Investment, a plan backed by the union as well. The fund is expected to reduce the debt by a third and would allow the city gain a higher rate of return for its share of Fond-du-Luth Casino profits. Lawmakers failed to allow the fund last year and must come through this legislative session, not only for Duluth but for other local governments battling similar retiree health-care liabilities.
The deadline for solving the crisis? That, you may recall, was supposed to have been Dec. 31, 2006, meaning whether the media are there to witness the negotiations or not, the time to get them done has long passed.
