for those who thought Co. Spgs city govt couldn't sink much lower:

[niyad]

Insult to injury
Weeks after being laid off, city bus drivers are being taxed on money they never received
by J. Adrian Stanley

When City Council decided to halve bus service at the end of 2009, Dan Francis and his wife, Toni, were among the drivers that lost their jobs.

The layoff was a tough break for a couple who had put in decades of service and have a 10-year-old to support. But the Francises resolved to keep their chins up. Looking ahead about six weeks, they'd have pension payments coming to them, since they were old enough to qualify for early retirement. And in the meantime, there was their sick time; between the two of them, they'd saved up plenty, and they were assured they'd be paid the $11,000-plus it was worth.

. . . . . ..



The situation isn't a fluke. Dozens of laid-off transit workers are going through the same thing. The problem traces back to a standoff between the city and First Transit, a contractor. When Councilors axed all those jobs and bus hours, they eliminated the transit contract that went with them. Now, the city and First Transit are haggling over unpaid bills associated with the former workers. Neither wants the responsibility of paying millions in pension obligations to the once-unionized workers. Nor do they want to pay about $300,000 in sick leave.

(There have long been tensions between the city and its transit workers. Lawsuits were filed over the years as the city sought to relieve itself of restrictions and obligations associated with the unionized workers. The city may have thought those hassles would end with the mass layoff last year, but that has not been the case.)

Ryan Hiatt, the former general manager of the First Transit contract, says his company has the sick-leave checks ready, but won't hand them out to workers — or amend W-2s — until the city pays the company. Hiatt maintains that the city contractually agreed to pay that sick leave, but city employees have ignored First Transit's invoices seeking payment.

The city, apparently, sees the situation differently, saying it has fulfilled its contractual obligations.

"There is a disagreement between First Transit and the city as far as who is responsible to pay for ," city spokesperson John Leavitt says plainly.

. . . . .


http://www.csindy.com/colorado/insult-to-injury/Content?oid=1626700

[vadawg]

1. eek, i guess it comes down to whatthe contract says, this is going to court

god knows how long that will take....

[niyad]

11. this city has spent well over a million fighting against various regulations and contracts to which

it is signatory. no matter how many courts slap them down, they just keep going. and, of course, it is the taxpayers' money they are spending for these efforts.

[joeybee12]

2. Not me...I think these jackasses COULD sink lower...n/t

[niyad]

3. every time I think they have reached the absolute depths, they do something to prove me wrong.

[joeybee12]

8. Well,get ready...the wrost is yet to come from these loons! n/t

[tularetom]

4. You're gonna see a lot more governments reneging on labor and pension contracts

The trickle down theory of government finance has failed, and impoverished state governments are keeping more tax dollars for their own uses instead of returning it to the localities it came from.

[niyad]

5. while that may be generally true, this particular city has a hate fest about transit, and has spent

years trying to destroy the pitiful thing that passes for it here. this is just the latest step in their ongoing efforts.

[vadawg]

6. yup its going to come down to contracts and what they say and what the courts say they say

its gonna get confusing and gonna take a long time...

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. So, transit is privatized there?

A private company came in and bought the transit system?

And no provision was made who was responsible for the pension obligations after
the city sold the transit?
Am I reading that right?

[niyad]

9. no, you aren't. the system is not privatized, first transit is simply ONE of FOUR management

companies that ran/run different parts of the system--frex, north and south lots (well, only the north lot now--it was all the south lot drivers, the ones with the longest seniority, who were laid off) and mobility. it is still a city system, although we are trying very hard to get a stand-alone system--but the city, despite hating transit, doesn't want to give it up, either.

[niyad]

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[niyad]

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[niyad]

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[niyad]

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