Council Budget Cuts Include 5 Layoffs

The City Council this week trimmed more than $2 million from its ailing budget in an attempt to keep the city from going bankrupt.

Five people--two Police Department employees and three recreation department employees--lost their jobs in the process. More than 50 jobs have been eliminated through attrition since the city began scaling back the budget more than a year ago.

Calling the cutbacks extremely difficult, City Manager Kevin O’Rourke blamed the slow economy along with new fees being passed down from state and county governments as the reasons for the city’s budget deficit, currently projected at about $4 million.

“The economic slowdown has severely hit our city,” O’Rourke told the council. Without the current round of cuts, “we could drain our reserves to zero within as little as three years,” he said.

Despite the cuts, the city will still be $2 million in the red. The money to cover the deficit will come out of the reserve account, leaving about $3 million in that fund. Residents will soon be getting a letter in the mail informing them of the city’s fiscal problems.

The $2-million reduction, unanimously adopted by the council, is spread across almost every department, taking in everything from employee Christmas gifts to entire recreation programs. The Police Department employees whose jobs were eliminated were a darkroom technician and a crime analyst. Two of the recreation department employees who lost their jobs were part-timers.

Director of Finance Greg Beaubien said staffers tried to cut areas which would have the least effect on residents.

“We didn’t go out and close a pool 200 people use every day,” Beaubien said.

In a show of support for the city, most employees agreed not to ask for a raise during the current round of contract negotiations. The only holdout was the 10-member Police Management Assn., which is seeking a guarantee that lieutenants’ salaries are at least 15% above that of sergeants.

Council members lauded the employees for their cooperation.

“The labor groups agreed with us to no increases. I would like to personally thank them,” said Councilman Don Griffin. “There is no winner and hopefully there are no losers.”

Susan Baldwin, the only resident who spoke at the meeting Monday, chastised the council for the five layoffs and asked them to implement an amusement tax on Knott’s Berry Farm, an idea that has been brought up in the past only to die for lack of support.

“It is always the employees at the bottom of the totem pole,” Baldwin said. “Even if we received something, even 10 cents a ticket, from (Knott’s Berry Farm), that could save a lot of jobs, even lives.”