10 Maintenance Workers Laid Off in Budget Crisis

City officials have laid off 10 maintenance workers in the latest move to balance the city’s budget. Four top administrators lost their jobs last month.

Norwalk residents can expect slower response to calls for services such as tree trimming, sidewalk repair and pothole filling, said Sanford M. Groves, assistant city manager.

The city will consider rehiring the employees if the Norwalk City Employees Assn. will give up a planned 5% cost-of-living raise and allow workers’ hours to be cut 5%, Groves said. City and union officials have been in negotiations for a week, but no agreement has been reached.

Union President William Clark was one of the workers who received a layoff notice. He could not be reached for comment.

Dennis J. Buschman, union representative, said: “I’m concerned about why this happened. You don’t just cut the head of the union organization without causing some conflicts.”

Don Whitaker, chief negotiator for the union, said the layoffs were premature and unnecessary. “We were never given a final, legal proposal that we could take to the membership,” he said. “If we had, we might not be facing the dilemma we are in now.”

The union was scheduled to meet Wednesday night. Whitaker would not discuss the contents of the document or the city’s proposal. Groves, the assistant city manager, said the layoffs were necessary even though negotiations are under way to save the jobs.

“Each week that the city waits to resolve the issue costs an additional $13,000,” he said. “It was strictly a financial decision.” He said the layoff decision was not an attempt to pressure the union.

He said even more jobs may be cut in the coming months as the city struggles to balance its budget. Reducing the Public Services Department from 60 positions to 50 will significantly hurt the city’s ability to maintain its streets and 14 public parks, Groves said. Most high-priority work, such as fixing safety hazards and removing graffiti, will be distributed among the remaining employees.

Public Services Director Dave Blevins said the department will try to provide current services but will take longer to do them.

“We’ve been so strapped already, because of the recession and cutbacks, that we are already down to the essential programs,” Blevins said. “The greatest dilemna is to decide what we can cut back.”

The layoffs will save about $427,000 for Norwalk, which is struggling to erase a $6-million shortfall in its $24-million operating budget.

The City Council recently enacted an 8% utility users tax, which will generate $3.2 million. About $800,000 will be taken from the city’s $4-million reserve fund, leaving about $2 million still to be cut.

The elimination of the four administrative positions saved about $450,000. Remaining department heads agreed to a 5% pay cut and gave up a scheduled 5% cost-of-living increase, saving an additional $250,000.