Council votes unanimously to override Tyndall in favor of its own fiscal package

By Greg Ellison

(June 17, 2021) The Berlin Town Council remained united Monday evening after voting 5-0 to override Mayor Zack Tyndall’s recent veto of a FY22 budget with amendments proposed by Councilman Jay Knerr and accepted by the rest of the council.

Knerr introduced his amendments to the proposed budget on May 24, and gained the support of the rest of the council. Tyndall, however, opted to veto the measure days later.

The mayor said he had give the council a balanced budget in early May, and his financial plan earmarked money to build up the town’s reserve funds.

“It also had some money available in contingency in case our revenue projections came in under what we thought,” he said.

Tyndall said his original proposal also accounted for increased health care costs for staff.

“In FY21 there was an increase in our healthcare premiums that were passed along to our employees and in FY22 I didn’t want to do that again,” he said.

Knerr’s amendment package also removed funds to conduct a feasibility study for a proposed community center on Flower Street, as well as money to develop a strategic plan for Berlin.

By contrast, the budget amendments offered by Knerr included a 1.5 percent salary increase for town staff.

Before voting to override Tyndall’s veto, public comments were solicited with Berlin resident Marie Velong first to speak.

Velong voiced support for Tyndall’s veto.

“I think his explanation to you all was very informative and informative for me as a resident and taxpayer,” she said.

Velong questioned the decision to delay funding a strategic plan.

“You obviously need one because you have no money to do anything,” she said.

Velong also raised issue with the inclusion of a minimal raise for town employees.

“As far as the salary increase, you did take away the increase in healthcare, which probably is a sizeable amount,” she said. “So, that’s a raise right there.”

Town Manager Jeff Fleetwood said insurance premiums did not increase for the town or its employees, but deductible costs could rise.

Fleetwood said the staff’s health reimbursement accounts could jump this year.

“Those monies are funded by the employer,” he said. “There is the potential for more money to be used as it relates to the deductible, but there’s also the potential for that not to change.”

Based on the prior five-year average utilization, deductible costs could remain unaltered, Fleetwood said.

“But I can’t predict or project when any of our 72 employees are going to need hospitalization,” he said.

Ultimately, Fleetwood said, health insurance is a benefit provided to employees.

“If they need to go to the doctor, go to the doctor,” he said. “I don’t want any employee of this town thinking in the back of their head, ‘I better not go to the doctor.’”

Tyndall said the town funds the first $5,000 for individual HRAs to maintain lower premiums.

“That went up $1,000 for all,” he said. “We had to fund an additional $1,000 for employee healthcare costs.”

Berlin resident Ernest Gerardi applauded the inclusion of a cost-of-living increase for employees in the amended budget.

Gerardi said during his professional career he worked for a company with thousands of employees.

“In any service or business there is not a damn thing more important than an employee,” he said. “If you don’t have them in place, and you don’t have them working together, not much gets accomplished.”

Councilman Dean Burrell said unlike previous budget processes, this year’s edition did not include productive conversations with the mayor.

“We were presented a budget and there was no negotiation [and] no discussion,” he said. “We were presented a budget that said to us, ‘this is what I want and this is what it’s going to be.’”

Burrell said Tyndall vetoed council’s budget recommendations.

“The former mayor was receptive to the suggestions of the council and interaction with his staff,” he said. “The current mayor is not that receptive.”

Burrell expressed surprise and disappointment after previously speaking directly with Tyndall for a half hour by phone regarding budget negotiations.

“I felt encouraged that we were going to be on the right track, but I come to the meeting and find nothing had changed,” he said. “No recommendations that the council had made had even been considered, and I think that’s appalling.”

Burrell suggested the mayor’s proposed budget would harm town services in the long run.

Councilwoman Shaneka Nichols took exception with the mayor’s budget not granting pay increases to staff.

“Many do not feel appreciated as employees,” she said. “Some of the employees are second guessing being employed by the Town of Berlin following this fiscal year.”

In response to Burrell, Tyndall said efforts were made to hold monthly meetings with council members.

“I have reached out, but you do not come or set up a time,” he said.

Burrell rejected the mayor’s invitation after witnessing scant results following earlier direct conversations.

“It’s really simple — what I have to say I will say here in public,” he said. “I’m not going to have side conversations and have my words misrepresented.”

During her roughly 30 minutes spent probing budget calls, Velong questioned the lack of a working relationship among elected officials.

“It seems like infighting and you guys can’t work together,” she said.

Knerr disagreed with her read on internal rapport.

“The council seems to work together just fine,” he said.