BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

[ED. NOTE: The next meeting of the Pittsfield School Committee is slated for Wednesday, April 13, beginning at 6 p.m. in the PHS library. Any citizen who is serious about putting the heat on the PSC should attend, en masse.]

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016) — Jonathan Melle mentioned in a comment yesterday how mayor Dan Bianchi left mayor Linda Tyer a giant mess. THE PLANET agrees, and here’s a perfect example.

Remember when Bianchi (TES) yanked city employees out of the state’s Group Insurance Commission and into Blue Cross-Blue Shield? THE PLANET at the time gave you the exclusive play-by-play on the back-room dealing and sandbagging. The Empty Suit justified the fatuous switch with a promise-sans-evidence of favorable rates and better coverage. Few believed the windbag at the time, and, true to form, TES answered not with details and information but with a big “Trust me,” which is municipal-ese for “F—k you.”

Evidence Makes Clear: Switch Was a Mistake

Now THE PLANET has the evidence for our assertion that the move ranked among the most foolhardy of TES’ inglorious reign. Given the high-rise incompetency that characterized The TES Administration, that’s saying a lot. PLANET sources tell us about the latest “in the Blue Cross vs. GIC fiasco from last year.”

” I just received the new rates from BCBS effective July 1, 2016,” one source told us. “After promising they would only go up a maximum of 4.5 percent, they went up 9 percent.  It looks like we’re doomed next year because their maximum in that column was a “?” mark.  Bianchi really stuck it to us and the city of Pittsfield.  As to the GIC, they only increased 3 percent.”

PLANET sources at city hall say there will be an attempt to “get the ball rolling to get us back on the GIC when we are eligible again.” Early word has it that there is a PEC meeting on April 13 that will be open to the public. It’s not only city employees who were hurt. Keep in mind that you, the honest taxpayer, will bear the brunt — 85% worth — of the ensuing cost hikes. Without cuts somewhere, that will likely add millions to the line item.

Tyer Responds to THE PLANET‘s Budget Questions

Speaking of Tyer, she responded yesterday to our questions on the budget. Here is that response, verbatim. The mayor’s answers followed the bullet points.

THE PLANET: Can you tell me where you are in terms of budget preparation?

• “Department heads are currently preparing their proposed FY17 budgets based upon the budget directives that they have received from me.  The deadline to submit their budgets to me is April 19.   I have called for a joint meeting between the City Council  and School Committee to be held on April 28 for the purposes of reviewing of the city’s financial conditions.  This will not be a FY17 budget hearing but a more detailed review of the city’s challenges.”

THE PLANET: What are your assumptions as you prepare the FY17 plan?

• “There are certain things that we already know.  For instance, the levy ceiling and limit are collapsing, reserves are too low, bond ratings are at risk, fixed costs are increasing, OPEB obligations are rising without proper planning, tax rates are strained.  And, yet, we want to ensure that we develop a municipal operating budget that responds to the emerging needs of our community.  It’s tempting to ask department heads to reduce budgets by some random percentage but this strategy is too simplistic and does not take into account the priorities of my administration, the emerging priorities of the individual departments, and is not conducive to good long-term planning.”

THE PLANET: Do you expect that the school department will have to take one for the team this year, given the dire conditions of the finances?

• “Creating schools that are safe and provide academic opportunity for our young learners is a top priority.  Good schools are good economic engines and good for our families.  The school budget will be taken into the full context of all the other competing priorities.”