Amador County – Ione City Council on Tuesday waived concession for three long-time employees who have agreed to retire early in efforts to help the city cut its General Fund budget.
Ione Interim City Manager Jeff Butzlaff said Friday the three employees accepted early retirement and the Council agreed to concessions the employees had made as part of bargaining units. The employees will now get all of their benefits and pay they had relinquished, until the early retirements begin at the end of January.
Butzlaff said it was a reasonable tradeoff. It will save the budget $256,000. Taking early, full retirements, effective Jan. 30, 2012, are City Clerk Janice Traverso, Building Inspector Don Myshrall and Maintenance Supervisor Steve Younger.
The city “will have do some backfill” with part-time employees, he said, but “we can no longer afford to do those on a full-time basis.” Butzlaff said he looked at the cities of Woodland and Roseville, which had “already cut about 25 percent of their staff.”
The affects of the recession have “caught up with us,” Butzlaff said. What really hurt was the “basic aid” designation given the county. He said it “cut about a third of our General Fund revenue.”
He said employees and unions “did all we could to reduce the General Fund budget” in an attempt to avoid layoffs. They needed to reduce it by about $600,000, and “we’re getting closer” to what will be stabilizing.
There still might be layoffs, he said, saying: “I can’t say no to that,” but they will try to avoid layoffs, if possible or minimize the number. He said the city still has “a few weeks for this to unwind and unfold.” Staff will try to come up with the final budget of the year by December, along with a final plan for inter-fund transfers.
Also Tuesday, Ione City Council looked at a chart showing the typical pattern of General Fund revenue flows to the city, in particular showing big chunks of property tax revenue coming in December and January, and again not until May and June. He said the city must weather the “drought months” the first five months of the fiscal year and either draw from reserves or make internal fund transfers.
Expenditures are kind of even, he said, and the property tax intervals are kind of like having a job and getting paid twice a year. Staff reported on external and internal options. Butzlaff said a typical means of purchasing bonds, based on Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes, was “a little too exotic for a city like Ione, especially with our financial situation.” He said the city is “only about a month away from receiving those large property tax funds.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
