For about the 42nd time, Democrats who hold the majority on the Troy City Council will try to lower the salaries of city employees. Specifically, any employee who may have been appointed by Mayor Harry Tutunjian is at risk of having their check reduced by the Democrats.
If there is any issue that underscores the ineptitude and incompetence of the Democrat majority, it is the salary issue. After narrowly winning the majority in fall 2007, Democrats began talking about cutting the salaries. Now, nearly one year later, they are trying again after having previous attempts fail when they could not come up with enough votes or got slam-dunked by a lawsuit by the Tutunjian team. And if the meddling with the employee salaries continues, another lawsuit against Democrats is likely, which, based on their track record, means another defeat for Democrats.
The bizarre twist is that Democrats are no longer portraying the revenge reductions as a benefit to taxpayers. Now Democrats are hoping to strip the salaries of longtime city employees to extend health benefits for domestic partners of non-represented employees. Which in reality, could lead to further expansions to other areas of the city workforce and cost city taxpayers even more.
The Democrat attacks on salaries of city employees linked to Tutunjian are beginning to form a pattern. The latest attack on employee salaries follows a tough stretch for Council Democrats, who suffered a major defeat after trying to ram through a reduced settlement for Rensselaer’s water debt only to see Tutunjian win a higher settlement and a breakdown of the Democrat majority on the City Hall deal. After months of opposing a City Hall deal, a Democrat study group on the deal came up with nothing and this month, the Dem majority splintered, with most Democrats siding with the Tutunjian deal. The half-hearted attacks on Tutunjian appointees seem like a feeble attempt to rally Democrat troops who may be headed for the hills.
All the nonsensical battling over raises led to speculation by Jim Franco of The Record that Council Democrats may not be holding the majority much longer.
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