Amador County – Sutter Creek on Monday discussed a widening budget deficit and a possibility of layoffs. City Manager Rob Duke said a 400,000-dollar city revenue shortfall a couple of months ago had further widened. Recent projections showed the fiscal year closing July 2009 with a 157,000-dollar deficit. With 7 months until then, he said that means almost 25,000 dollars in spending cuts per month to break even. He said options included layoffs, based on seniority and spread across police, administration and public works departments. Another would be mandatory employee furloughs. He said the options would be voted on by the city’s employee unions. Finance director Jeffry Gardner said the deficit came from a significant decrease in sales tax revenue, which was over-projected by two-thirds. Earlier in the meeting, the council approved a 56-acre annexation application, with housing, commercial and residential zoning. If that project, “Sutter Hill East,” gets approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission, Duke said the city “will realize some sales tax this year.” He said the city up to this point has never had layoffs during economic downturns, noting that “this would be the first.” Duke recommended furloughs. Councilman Tim Murphy said a mandatory furlough would be difficult to account for the 15 or 20 percent in budget cuts needed. He said furloughs bring loss in productivity and can lead to overtime pay, negating the intended savings. Murphy said he would rather vote for some kind of longer-term solution. Mayor Gary Wooten said he would rather the council give up its stipends to help with the cuts, noting that the 7 months of salary would amount to 9,400 dollars. Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth agreed, saying he would give up his stipend before seeing the loss of a city police officer. Councilman Brent Parsons suggested a reduction in pay. Murphy said the city is “not required to do binding arbitration on salaries when it’s an emergency.” Duke said that is true, when pay cuts are made across the board. The council advised Duke to return with recommendations after talks with unions. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Wednesday, 19 November 2008 00:26
Sutter Creek Budget Deficit Widens
Amador County – Sutter Creek on Monday discussed a widening budget deficit and a possibility of layoffs. City Manager Rob Duke said a 400,000-dollar city revenue shortfall a couple of months ago had further widened. Recent projections showed the fiscal year closing July 2009 with a 157,000-dollar deficit. With 7 months until then, he said that means almost 25,000 dollars in spending cuts per month to break even. He said options included layoffs, based on seniority and spread across police, administration and public works departments. Another would be mandatory employee furloughs. He said the options would be voted on by the city’s employee unions. Finance director Jeffry Gardner said the deficit came from a significant decrease in sales tax revenue, which was over-projected by two-thirds. Earlier in the meeting, the council approved a 56-acre annexation application, with housing, commercial and residential zoning. If that project, “Sutter Hill East,” gets approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission, Duke said the city “will realize some sales tax this year.” He said the city up to this point has never had layoffs during economic downturns, noting that “this would be the first.” Duke recommended furloughs. Councilman Tim Murphy said a mandatory furlough would be difficult to account for the 15 or 20 percent in budget cuts needed. He said furloughs bring loss in productivity and can lead to overtime pay, negating the intended savings. Murphy said he would rather vote for some kind of longer-term solution. Mayor Gary Wooten said he would rather the council give up its stipends to help with the cuts, noting that the 7 months of salary would amount to 9,400 dollars. Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth agreed, saying he would give up his stipend before seeing the loss of a city police officer. Councilman Brent Parsons suggested a reduction in pay. Murphy said the city is “not required to do binding arbitration on salaries when it’s an emergency.” Duke said that is true, when pay cuts are made across the board. The council advised Duke to return with recommendations after talks with unions. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
