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The Mayor should state he will NOT appeal the Tier II pension ruling as a show of good faith to the Unions. Why not take the loss, acknowledge it and move on? Now would be a great time to negotiate and tell the Union you will NOT appeal the decision w/ the idea of moving them into a pension system that is different than Tier II but still favorable to both sides. Maybe the deal won't be as beneficial to the City as Tier II but again, the City should be taking ANY gain they can get that helps curb costs wherever they can get it. I know some people have a negative perception of Unions and that is a very difficult thing to change. The bottom line is the City of Warwick is fixing NOTHING without concessions from the Unions and nobody is going to gain those concessions if the tone doesn't change.

I have been making this same comment on this website since 2015. Cote, Cushman and Stacia have said "cut, cut, cut" for years now. "Raise health care premiums, slash benefits etc." Nobody ever wants to acknowledge those cuts have to be gained through bargaining and negotiations which is always easier said than done. Rob Cote usually tells me the time for negotiating is over. Had the City taken my advice 4 or 5 years ago maybe some of those smaller concessions would have added up by now and had us in better financial standing today. We would have 5+ years of new hires in a new pension system, we could have gained higher co-pays and insurance co-shares, even had vested employees retire as a way to leave unfilled positions open, or fill them with newer hires that are less expensive to taxpayers. Instead we threaten appeals as a way to gain leverage? That just doesn't seem big picture to me. Use this as a way to move negotiations forward. The City doesn't need to fight little battles they've already lost, they need to look at the big picture and save us from financial ruin.