Westminster : 14 City Workers to Lose Jobs in Budget Pinch

Fourteen city workers will be out of their jobs soon, but who those employees will be has not been determined.

To stem a $1.5-million budget deficit, City Council members voted last week to cut 17 city jobs--three of which are already vacant and will not be filled, according to Assistant City Administrator Don Anderson.

Until the Personnel Department calculates who gets to stay and who must leave, a final figure on the budget won’t be available, Anderson said.

Council members last week approved the 1985-86 budget with the agreement that the 17 positions be cut, saving the city at least $619,314, and that capital projects--such as the purchase of cars and filing cabinets--be reduced by $128,000, Anderson said.

The new budget calls for no new programs or additional personnel. The city has operated with a budget deficit for at least three years, Anderson said.

Last year, the council directed the city administrator to find ways to balance the budget without resorting to reserve funds. At the time, council members scrapped the idea of deleting 43 city jobs or issuing a 3% utility tax to erase a deficit of $1.25 million.

The 17 positions include clerks, two building inspectors and personnel from the Engineering, Street Maintenance and Community Services departments, Anderson said.