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generally not as comprehensive, based on public/private sector analysis. Hence,the remainder of the paper will focus on union represented employees. The last point I wish to make on timing(and budgeting process) stems around the "City of Lakewood Financial Policies and Guidelines (Budget pg.18)whereby it states "All funds, except agency funds, are legally required to be budgeted and appropriated"...and "the legal level of budgetary control has been established by City Council at the fund level for all funds." Nowhere can I find mention of paid parental leave, or funding of, in the City's 2021 Approved Budget of$156 Mil. Pitfalls of Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector Many studies have been issued on differences between Public and Private Sector Collective Bargaining, with Public Sector Bargaining frequently referred to as "Political Collective Bargaining"for obvious reasons. My paper is based on the numerous University of PA, School of Law periodicals... Let's begin with the fact that collective bargaining in the public sector indirectly affects the level of taxes paid by taxpayers and the level of services they receive,which inevitably falls back to the City's budget, which is probably the City's most important political decision. Studies further demonstrate that the closeness of public officials to their employees, particularly Mayors, makes them more vulnerable to the "financial pitfalls" of the "Political Collective Bargaining" process. And herein lies a major concern, as I mentioned with Mayor George's "political theatrics" article in the Sun News("I knew once I became Mayor I wanted to reintroduce this benefit, because it's been a long passion of mine"). Which, may I remind you of AFSCME Council 8's July, 2019 endorsement of Meghan George for Mayor? Coincidently, let's look at the AFSCME's website where they state: "The long-term goal is for all workers—union and non-union, public and private sector—to have access to paid family leave.This is one of the issues AFSCME looks at in evaluating support for candidates and elected officials." NO surprise.....So,the question I ask the Committee is WHO comprises the City's bargaining committee and have they weighed in on this ordinance? I would hope at a minimum that members from the City's Legal, HR and Finance, would be included in these discussions and fully vet this Ordinance and the impact on not only the eight bargaining units, but also the impact on bargaining within other municipalities. We have seen the affect that "patterned bargaining" has on communities with similar union representation. Total Cost Impact and Budgeting Process Having spent 37 in corporate finance in the private sector for a Fortune 10 Company,the one thing I can emphatically tell you is that when costs are stated for funding proposals, or bargaining demands,they are generally understated (for review and ease of approval), leading us to ask"what is the real total cost impact now and in the future"?? Mayor George stated in the Sun Article that based on the past three years, "If the legislation had been in in place,the city would have paid between $27K and $36K during that period." Which of course begs the question, in addition to the applicant's wages during their parental leave, does it account for: overtime pay for job coverage; additional temporary employees if needed or contractually required;training costs for backup coverage; and additional supplies, equipment, or materials? And, because employees would no longer have to use their accrued sick time, vacation time, or other paid time off, would there be a need for additional employees, (full or part-time) added to the rolls due the increases in absenteeism coverage. Considering the majority of City employees are union represented, what is the contractual language behind overtime and job coverage for"extended" periods of leave? Let us not forget that even if they are not union employees, if they are classified "non-exempt" (Fair Labor Standards Act),they too would be paid overtime for all hours worked greater than 40, scheduled or not. Therefore,the underlying question is two-fold: WHO is responsible for evaluating the"total cost impact" and what is the true impact over the duration of the negotiated contracts? (If interested, I do have a few suggestions to the negotiating team when and if this comes up for negotiations during the contract renewal phase. One would be to propose to the Unions employees "self-fund" all or a part of their paid time off by setting up a paid parental leave account similar to health savings accounts (HSA).This would require tax code