No TV cameras, major Overture parties not here, just the alders, and its 10 after 5:00 – perhaps they are holding their own press conference elsewhere? Live blogged, kinda.
Alders Present: Steve King, Bryon Eagon, Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, Satya Rhodes-Conway, Mark Clear, Julia Kerr, Lauren Cnare, Michael Schumacher, Larry Palm, Mike Verveer
Clear says running short on time, have to start to meet quorum, 13 after. They are all present. They go around the room and introduce themselves since the staff didn’t provide them with any name tags. I see no staff available to take notes. They make various jokes as they go around.
For those of you who did not get the lat minute flurry of emails, the Overture Parties and Workgroup met and at 6:30 yesterday reached tentative agreement. Michael May and Overture Attorneys drafted version 5. It’s the same as 4, non-profit own and operate and employee protections in place.
May has copies. Not enough for the public. He throws them on the floor. There are not enough copies of teh crossed out version. It should be on legistar in the morning.
Clear asks him to go through the changes. Two changes between red copy and the clean copy, 3 is now two so the long paragraph is in the end of exhibit A. Exhibit B is directions to the mayor’s office on the employee negotiations.
Changes from 5 to 4, substantive ones are that:
– Grant of $2M, no adjustment for PILOT.
– Transition date Jan 1, 2012
– Long term and annual contract in exhibit A, continues right of first refusal, governance model simplified. Madison representation equal to the percentage of our contribution and expenditures. Mayor and Mayor’s designee, plus others approved by the council.
– Requirements for open meetings.
– Advisory board – 45% of members appointed by Mayor and confirmed by council, as opposed to 2 members.
– Resident advisory board remains the same
– Provision on local promoters on use of Overture, no exclusivity
– Capital maintenance plan is basis
– Employee provisions mostly the same except it excludes some of the top management
– Some time tables on employment and bumping.
– Resolving liabilities
– Personal property
– Provision on default and remedies, in final version this will be flushed out.
– Financial reports needed, requires only audit at end of year.
– He says the rest is lawyer boilerplate.
– Annual report and provisions in there, educational and community programs.
– Endowment or capital reserve fund. Worked out in individual contracts.
– Exhibit B is language directing mayor to follow up and HR to negotiate a MOU with local 60.
If you ask me, his verbal outline is unhelpful, you have to read it for the details. But its not available electronically. Won’t be til the morning.
Chris Schmidt now here.
Clear says that they had to negotiate among themselves that would be supported by their colleagues and get 11 votes, and also would be supported by Overture Boards because they are partners and their donors relieving the debt is the reason it is before them and lastly that Overture sustainable and viable and successful.
He asks for questions.
Shiva Bidar-Sielafff says that the Overture Parties will meet tomorrow at 8am. And council votes tomorrow night.
Satya Rhodes-Conway asks if there is questions or if they can talk about exhibit B.
Dierdre Garton now here.
Steve King asks about the PILOT.
Rhodes-Conway says it came from the Mayor, its a budgetary thing, and she asks Brasser to explain.
Dean Brasser, Comptroller, says currently there is a $1.8M in subsidy, $500K PILOT, the increase is $700K, and the Mayor’s question is about Expenditure Restraint Program of the state, if the subsidy goes from $1.8 to $2.5 if we net that and instead do $2M, then only $200K increase and more room under the Expenditure Restraint.
Julia Kerr asks about the precedent that sets for other groups that pay PILOT.
Brasser says each is done under a unique and separate agreement and this will not have much of an impact.
Clear says there is no rhyme or reasons to the PILOT and who pays them in the other cases.
Kerr asks about some language in the contract about appointment and wants it clarified.
May says that the language does need to be nailed down.
Kerr also asks about Executive Board, do we designate who?
May says yes.
Rhodes-Conway says current portion i 15%.
Clear says he gives “major props” to Michael May and Anne Zellhoefer and Overture attorneys for their work last night and today.
Rhodes-Conway says this has two contracts that are yet to be written, so she is comfortable stateing their intention.
Cnare asks about the long term contract, 5 years or yet to be defined.
May says that it in perpetuity, much of it is about transition. Suggest some things can be moved back to annual contract.
May says that the structural contract may not have time to come back cuz they need to do it by the end of the year.
May says the annual contract will take some time to get out, early in the summer it should be done so done by the budget.
Schumacher asks about 5 year lease?
May says don’t have lease, don’t own the building. This is just governance and protection is the short term annual contract.
Kerr wants to make sure annual contract signed and in place before the budget, can they do that?
May says it ought to be done by budget time.
Kerr says that she wants the contract adopted prior to the budget being adopted.
Cnare says they don’t want to put this into the budget discussion.
Kerr says that is the concern.
Clear makes a speech about the fragility of making amendments, they need some extraordinary procedure to be put in place, he is pleading to restrain from amendments, even tho the attorney’s have some details to work out.
May say he will check with the Overture folks and do an amendment.
Kerr says every year contract finalized before the budget.
May says that if you put the money in the budget, then they approve the contract.
Kerr just doesn’t want it to be budget time and Overture contract time.
Chris Schmidt asks about the board make up – what is it now?
They say 15%.
King asks how likely to fluctuate?
Rhodes-Conway says they are restricting the size of the board, but it would have to be a large amount for it to be a whole person.
Shiva Bidar-Sielaff says she thought that they were supposed to have a minimum of three. She says it should be proportional.
Clear says the boards had different opinions about the size of the board.
Schmidt asks about tax exempt status. Worried about the state action. A PILOT doesn’t wipe out tax liability, and property taxes are paid to others.
No one answered the questions, they think they are property tax exempt.
They think that they will remain exempt.
Verveer asks about language he is first seeing for the first time. On page four, exclusivity issues, can you explain what you worked out.
Clear says that he was in the room, he was trying to relay Maniaci concerns and she was satisfied with the language.
Verveer says this doesn’t change anything or isn’t different from today.
Carto agrees, there is not exclusive agreement today and there won’t be.
Verveer asks about 3 page memo from Murphy Desmond, he thought they would be using the language from the memo and he want to know why it isn’t the same. Did we not say we would accept this language?
His colleagues explain that they didn’t think that they would change the language.
There is some confusion.
Verveer says that there are alders who have places they need to go to, but he thinks the employment issues are critical, he asks if it i his intent to work with Murphy Desmond to have exhibit B and clauses in the resolution. Exhibit B has stronger language.
May says all he did was incorporate the language.
Verveer wants the may language removed and wants it to say shall. He says the language in Exhibit B and resolution language is not consistent.
. . . discussion . . . “insider baseball” . . .
Verveer is pushing for stronger language, Bidar-Sielaff agrees, Rhodes-Conway says they don’t have agreement.
Bridget Maniaci and Marsha Rummel come in at 6:00. (I think they were at Landmarks)
Verveer asks about bumping process, what was experience with layoffs in last two years.
Brad Wirtz, Human Resources, says bumping happens when senior employees have rights over newer employees, they meet with HR and looks at list of jobs they can bumped into, they find out if they are qualified, if they are and they want they job they can. He says 50% of the time the bump into a vacant positions. Union folks in the crowd laugh. Wirtz talks directly to them and he says he has been doing this a long time and that’s the way it works and he can get the numbers. He says with Overture, one person bumped to Monona Terrace and that person went to Parking Utility. He says can’t recall last time that an individual was laid off, but someone new on probation may have left the position. Comp group 18 folks did lose jobs, just no union jobs.
Verveer asks about local 251 IATSE has issues with MOU.
Wirtz says they can’t bump, they work a hiring call, they send people, not the same people all the time. Sick leave doesn’t apply there either. In the pension system something might apply, if council determines to do something there, they would be impacted.
Bidar-Sielaff asks why not put IATSE in the MOU language, instead of giving them the me too clause with AFSCME.
Rhodes-Conway says that it was supposed to be everyone.
Verveer asks if they can ask the IATSE people. They say that Brad covered it but there are WRS (retirement) issues.
Verveer asks about local 60 hourly people. How can we lessen the blow to them.
Wirtz says that that might be impacted during negotiations, he says we will be given a number and where the union want to put that money is up to them.
Clear says that we would need to have a discussion at Board of Estimates about that negotiation, likely in closed session.
Janet Piraino says that wouldn’t be precluded.
Verveer asks them to make that clear.
Piraino says that its not part time. She says there are no bumping rights.
Verveer says he is talking about preference, and jobs that are open to local 60 members. He says they get more hourly positions than permanent part time job that get sent via email when there is an opening.
Piraino says they can add that in 3.
Verveer asks about sick leave adn pension (WRS) issues, he asks about accrued vacation and comp time.
Wirtz says that is automatic. There is no negotiation.
Piraino says the only question is how they split those liabilities with 201.
Rhodes-Conway has to go.
Clear says that the work group should make a recommendation and they could make a motion.
Rhodes-Conway thanks people who sat through all the meeting, no one got what they wanted, but we tried our best to make sure concern were addressed. It was a very interesting experience and at the end of they day we would be in a different place if it was left up to her, but she will support it and hopes they can work together moving forward, especially to make it more accessible than it already is. She would vote aye.
Verveer, also on exhibit B, he wants to beef up number 3, he want to be more specific on the bumping issue. He want to know if there were other versions of number 3 that were more of a commitment to keep positions open, because of the unprecedented number of people will be bumping, especially with the maintenance people.
Piraino said they started negotiating a MOU?
Verveer asks if that was parking utility?
Wirtz says both.
Piraino says mayor very committed to negotiating the MOU but he doesn’t want to pre-determine the negotiations results. Ok to negotiate, but concerned about defining the goal.
Verveer says that what we agree one was to avoid lay offs and the like, is that objectionable.
Kerr says she thinks #3 does does do that.
Verveer and Bidar-Sielaff want stronger language on negotiation, lots of discussion. Piraino agrees to meet with them off line.
Clear says they can do more at BOE.
Verveer says it is a matter of comfort and the language is critical, there are many affected employees.
Schumacher moves to adopt.
Clear asks for discussion.
Schumacher says that this was a diverse group of alders, dealing with complexity and there was a desire and fiestiness, alot of other people working hard, mayor and staff and unions etc. MCAD, 201, attorneys etc. This was a unique experience and this might not happen again. Maybe this will work in the future, wishes they had it for the Edgewater. Thanks Clear for getting them together and Rhodes-Conway facilitation.
Bidar-Sielaff says that she agrees with Schumacher, this is not the version she would pick, they worked hard, a number of compromise, she will support. Will watch exhibit B as it comes through. Hopes thi means that the employees will have a stable working environment and that we will maintain the employees not to the detriment of others. Not good when big policies impact those who work the hardest.
Verveer says his thank yous too, he might have sparred the hardest, especially on the city owning the building, he will vote for it and co-sponsor, but bitter-sweet cuz not perfect and would have preferred a different solution, but when weight positive and negatives, while can’t be a cheerleader, he thinks Overture is such an asset, that he has to support what is before us, and will be before us tomorrow. He urges colleagues, especially those who see this as privatizing, this is hard to stomach, he has never done this before, but more important to keep the lights on and keep the doors open. He says this will settle the debt, thanks to Dierdre, Joe Sensenbrenner and the other donors. This will settle the debt and allow Overture to move forward, do I think the city will end up owning the building, yes, he does. Although it pains him to think about the employees not in the best position tonight, we have to do as much as we can to protect those folks. This is a compromise and we all know what compromise is like.
Cnare says that she thanks her colleague, and everyone who helped out along the way. Rhodes-Conway says everyone loses, she thinks everyone wins. We still own it as a community, we are partners in it, hope the employees know that there is no fault or blame and she hopes they can move forward.
Battery dying . . . . just thank you’s left . . . jokes about baking . . .
Rummel asks if someone can go through the changes.
Clear says May can do that privately.
Rummel says no, for the meeting tomorrow night, for the tv cameras.
Clear says they can.
They vote and adjourn sine die.
