Miami's Budget Stalls Over Police Union Contract
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The city of Miami must close a $62 million deficit in the 2012 budget. The first of two public hearings is set for Thursday night and city leaders hope agreements reached with three of four unions may help bring the city closer to a balanced budget.
But, the lone holdout remains the police union. According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, city leaders want the police union to go along with a plan to slash $12 million from the department.
The majority of the police cuts would be from eliminating pay supplements, three paid holidays, and special night shift pay from the roughly 1,000 union members. An additional $5 million would come from not purchasing new police cars and forcing members to pay for physicals and new uniforms.
The massive cuts are coming for the third year in a row in the city of Miami. The city has seen the reserves it once had of more than $100 million, drop to just $13 million in 2011.
The city has agreed to cuts with the sanitation, general employees, and the fire union. That leaves the police union as the lone stumbling block.
The police union will have a hard time trying to win the battle with the city. Just like last year, the city has declared a financial urgency. This means commissioners can impose union contract cuts, regardless of the union's position.
A second public hearing will be held September 27. A balanced budget must be submitted to Tallahassee before October 1, 2012.
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