It’s highly unlikely that the resolution will change anyone’s salary — those decisions lie with the organization’s leaders, not the council. Still, embroiled in a labor battle that’s dragged on for more than a year, the unionized workers were ready to rally around the minor victory.
The Howard Center provides mental health care, substance abuse treatment, counseling and other services to roughly 15,000 people each year, according to its website.
Bargaining on behalf of the center’s employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has been in contract negotiations with management since April 2014. Seven Days wrote last year about the union’s efforts to recruit members among Howard Center’s ranks.
Unionized employees have also been fighting for this resolution since last December, when the council decided not to support a slightly different version.
During the public forum, one Howard Center employee said he’s moving into an RV in Burlington next month because he can’t continue pay 40 percent of his income on rent. Others emphasized that low salaries — $11 per hour for some employees — have led to high turnover, which negatively impacts often-vulnerable clients who depend on stable care.
Councilors had no qualms about urging the state to send more money to organizations such as the Howard Center. The debate dealt with one line — that “the Burlington City Council urges the Howard Center to make livable and competitive wages for workers a priority.”
The disagreement crossed party lines. Progressive councilor Jane Knodell, Republican Kurt Wright and three Democrats voted against the resolution on the grounds that the council shouldn’t insert itself into contract negotiations. Mayor Miro Weinberger noted that he was “troubled” by it for the same reason.
Democrat Tom Ayres countered that the council would be shirking its duty if it didn’t support the resolution. “I think it’s incumbent upon us as elected leaders to stand behind those who are making extraordinary contributions to our community and make sure they’re adequately compensated.”
In a less contentious move, the council unanimously approved Beth Anderson as the city’s first-ever chief innovation officer.
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It would be of interest to learn exactly what are the salaries amounts for the ten to twenty top members of the Howard Center management team across the entire agency (particularly when compared to those who are providing direct services and so on), how much those management salaries have grown over the years and what if any bonuses or the like have also been received.
Beyond that, how much was the entire severance package worth for former Howard Center executive director Todd Centybear.
In addition, it would help to also learn what the sources of income (as well as what are those dollar amounts) for Howard Center are in terms of how much it draws from federal, state, local or other sources as well as specifically what services or supports those various sources of income are targeted to fund and so on.
Morgan W. Brown
Montpelier
“Beyond that, how much was the entire severance package worth for former Howard Center executive director Todd Centybear.” i.e., what if any golden parachute was allocated by the agency board and received by Todd Centybear when he retired as its executive director.
Morgan W. Brown
Montpelier
From vtdigger (5/4/2015; paragraph 10; excerpted):
http://vtdigger.org/2015/05/04/auditors-of…
“The CEO and CFO from The Howard Center, in Burlington, had the second and third highest increases in compensation. The Howard Center CFO saw an 84 percent increase between 2010 and 2013 and the CEO’s compensation increased by 75 percent between 2010 and 2012. The Howard Center is the largest designated agency in the state and both executives retired during the period. […]”