Whenever local communities suffer from hard financial times (like now), the focus of an angry public inevitably turns to municipal employees.

Their wages and salaries come under scrutiny. Their benefit package is examined and dissected. Their job performance, job security and working conditions are debated throughout the community.

Is this fair? Well, the employees certainly don't think so. But since salaries and benefits often account for 80 percent or more of the budget, it is necessary and inevitable.

Often the public sees these employees as a growing drain on their wallets. While they appreciate the job done by firefighters, police officers and teachers, they question the consistent increases in their property taxes to fund not only salaries but pensions, health insurance and other benefits.

The relationship between towns and their employees is one taxpayers and citizens need to better understand. Most municipal employees belong to unions. Those unions negotiate contracts governing all aspects of the employee-employer relationship. Those contracts are detailed and complex.

In some cases they are negotiated by the unions using skilled professional negotiators who make their livings in this manner. In others, the employees may represent themselves. Either way, they are experts in their fields.

The municipalities are often represented by part-time elected officials who lack the experience, knowledge and time to keep up with their bargaining counterparts. Often they are led in negotiations by their town manager or administrator - who is, of course, a town employee.

There is not always consistency in municipal negotiations. Selectmen usually deal with public safety unions while the school committee handles the teachers and other school unions. The town does not generally speak with one voice.

When bad financial times hit, taxpayers often expect municipal employees to forgo wage increases. They reason that in the private sector, when business is bad, the employees must sacrifice along with the company.

But the public sector is entirely different. Municipalities are not profit centers. Public employees cannot go out and increase sales to gain additional revenues. In cities and towns, there are no banner financial years - just some in which cuts are not a necessity.

But while perhaps trailing on the wage scale, public employees do well on the benefit side. Their pension plans are excellent. Most get a high percentage of their health insurance paid for them. Vacation time, holidays, sick leave - all these often exceed what their counterparts in the private sector receive.

Their job security is generally good. Municipal layoffs certainly occur, but not that often. And for whatever complaining may be done, the facts show municipal workers tend to stay in their jobs. A look at the longevity in this area clearly proves that, and the towns are better for their dedicated service.

But today, many jobs may be threatened. Public employees may very well be pushed to the maximum. Unless there are concessions in things like health insurance costs and other benefits, the unions may find their ranks severely diminished.

But that threat generally is not effective in government. Though they may not come out and say it, those who stand to keep their job will most often choose receiving an increase and providing for their families over saving the jobs of less senior comrades. The idea of unions accepting considerably less to maintain jobs is not as common as some might like to think. And who can blame them?

The idea municipal employees should forgo raises in difficult years is unfair and unreasonable. Many of them toil in thankless but necessary jobs that do not attract attention or empathy.

But they do have to shoulder their fair share of certain burdens.

They need to pay a larger percentage of their health insurance costs. Those who receive accumulated sick pay need to agree to reasonable limits. They must be willing to help with the restructuring and streamlining of their jobs and departments.

And taxpayers must resist the temptation to make municipal employees the object of their frustrations. They did not create this climate of financial instability.

But it will take them, in cooperation with their fellow taxpayers, to begin and help fix it.

BILL GOUVEIA is a local columnist who has sat on both sides of the negotiating table. His column appears every Saturday, and he can be reached at aninsidelook@aol.com.