Toledo City Council spent a large portion of its May 1 meeting debating proposed legislation that would provide domestic partner benefits to City of Toledo employees.
In an April 27 news conference, Mayor Mike Bell introduced the legislation, citing issues of fairness and equality as the reason for the proposal.
“We talked about human resource hiring practices and how we need to be fair to everyone,we talked about affirmative action and how we need to be fair to everyone, but yet there are portions of our business actions that we currently have in place, that aren’t necessarily fair to everyone,” Bell said.
Council members who support the legislation, like Bell, also cited fairness and equality as the main reasons for their support.
Council President Joe McNamara said this is a simple matter of promoting civil rights.
“I feel like there is somewhat of a smoke screen being used around thisissue, and I guess there are a lot of different perspectives on how you look at the matter. But from the way I look atit, there are employees of the City of Toledo that are actively being discriminated against because they choose to be in a relationship with someone of the same gender,” McNamara said.
Councilman Steve Steel also argued for extending the rights. The City of Toledo would not be the first prominent employer in the area to provide these benefits to its employees. Lucas County, the University of Toledo, Owens Corning and ProMedica offer benefits to domestic partners of their employees.
The proposal was met with opposition from at least three council members, who cited cost, timing and the city’s economic state as reasons for their opposition.
Councilman Rob Ludeman cited recent collective bargaining deals as a reason he is against the proposal.
“I find it sad and ironic that within 30 days of the finalization of the last bargaining hearing that now magically there appear some funds or some way to include another group of people in the benefits that were reduced by the bargaining units because we didn’t have the funds to run the city. I feel that is a bit of a slap in the face for those who bargain in good faith and good conscience,” Ludeman said.
Councilman Tom Waniewski concurred with Ludeman, arguing that same-sex marriage is not recognized by the State of Ohio and therefore domestic partner benefits should not be offered in Toledo.
“This is not a smoke screen, and those of us who are against this legislation are not trying to put up a smoke screen. So please don’t confuse democracy with what our current laws are and what our obligations are to all tax-paying citizens,” Waniewski said.
Although the benefits would be considered taxable income for employees, Councilman D. Michael Collins questioned the cost.
The estimated cost to the City of Toledo could be as low as $52,000, or as high as $500,000, according to Public Information Officer Jen Sorgenfrei.
The figures presented to council were rough estimates derived from the cost to other Ohio cities that provide the benefits.
Council was clear on defining that eligibility will be granted to same-sex and heterosexual couples so long as they meet the criteria outlined in the Toledo Municipal Code.
Participating in the program will obligate couples to enroll in the Domestic Partner Registry. In December 2007, Toledo became the first major city in Ohio to create
such a program, which currently has 167 couples enrolled.
To enroll, a notarized application form and fee must be submitted to the clerk of council. After the application is submitted, the couple receives a certificate acknowledging the partnership.
As of 2012, an estimated 2,796 people work for the City of Toledo, which has a population of 287,208, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Bell said he expects roughly 2 percent of those employed by the City of Toledo to partake in the program.
After roughly 40 minutes of debate, Council decided to send the issue to committee.
The issue will be heard at the Human Resources, Information Technology and Finance committee meeting, chaired by Councilman George Sarantou, at 4 p.m. May 30, 2012.
