WESTMINSTER : Cuts in City Pay for New Employees Urged

A citizens panel that two years ago recommended cuts in the Fire Department and spawned an unsuccessful recall of city leaders said in a new report that city officials must continue efforts to reduce employee benefits and salaries.

The focus of the cuts must be on future employees, according to the 10-member Financial Review Committee, which since 1992 has been looking at ways to make city operations cheaper and more efficient.

In a report submitted to the City Council this week, the panel said that starting salaries should be lowered 15% to 25% and that new employees should receive medical and other benefits only after passing a probationary period, not upon hiring.

“This is not a bad place to work,” said Earl French, who headed a three-member subcommittee studying the city’s employee policies and hiring practices.

Council members thanked the panel, which it had appointed, but did not comment on the report. City Manager Bill Smith said city staff will study the recommendations and report to the council in about a month.

Arthur Gandy, who heads the panel of residents selected because of their financial and management backgrounds, said the study found that the city spends about $97,000 of general-fund money for every city employee, which is 10% higher than the Orange County average.

The cost per employee is the seventh highest in the county, higher than in Garden Grove, Newport Beach and Anaheim, he said. Because of the high cost, the city is able to hire fewer employees, he added.

With 340 full-time and part-time employees, the ratio of employees to residents is about 3.3 to 1,000. The county average ratio is 5 to 1,000, according to the report.

In 1993, the committee recommended $3-million cuts in manpower and equipment in the Fire Department, which were made last year. Mayor Charles V. Smith and three other council members survived the firefighter-supported recall that followed.