City to Save About $133,000 by Adding 10 New Jobs

In an unusual twist, the city will save about $133,000 by adding new jobs, city officials say.

That’s because six of the 10 new hires authorized in the city’s $43.4-million preliminary budget have already been working for Mission Viejo as contractors. City officials have found it costs less to hire the workers outright rather than pay private contractors.

The jobs are in the Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Information Systems departments.

Mayor Sherri M. Butterfield praised City Manager Dan Joseph for the cost savings, saying, “He has done an admirable job of reorganizing and looking at places where we need people.”

The $43.4-million budget will exceed revenue by $3.3 million, mainly because of the cost of building a new city library.

The city also wants to hire an information specialist, a community services coordinator, a kennel attendant for the city animal shelter and a worker in administrative services, who will be working slightly less than full-time. The kennel attendant will replace temporary, part-time workers.

The City Council authorized the city staff to move forward with the preliminary budget. A vote on the final budget for fiscal year 1996-97 is expected in June.