Santa Maria city employees have voluntarily accepted 4 to 5 percent reductions in wages and benefits for the 2010 calendar year, according to an announcement from the city.
The plan is expected to save the city approximately $600,000 through June 30, 2010—the end of the current fiscal year—and about $1.2 million throughout the 2010 calendar year. Santa Maria is reportedly the only city in the tri-county area to have all of its employees agree to pay cuts in 2010.
To combat the severe revenue reductions caused by the recession, city officials met with employee representatives over the past several months to negotiate concessions.
“A lot of credit is due to the city’s workforce for recognizing the need and taking positive action to be part of the solution,” Assistant City Manager Rick Haydon said in a release to the media.
The plan is scheduled to take effect at the end of this calendar year. For most employees, the cuts will manifest in 13 furlough days during the course of the year, according to information from the city. Also in 2010, a handful of city offices, including City Hall and the Santa Maria Public Library will be closed the third Friday of every month. The Santa Maria Regional Landfill will be closed on
selected Sundays.
Employees taking a 5 percent reduction include the majority of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 620 members, all management personnel, and some fire department personnel and non-sworn police department staff. The 5 percent pay cut will also affect members of the City Council, Planning Commission, and Recreation and Parks Commission.
Employees taking 4 percent reductions include firefighters working shift schedules, sworn police personnel, and dispatchers. The sworn personnel and dispatchers agreed to concessions in holiday pay, and the remaining employees will participate in the 13-day furlough program, city representatives said.
The differences in pay reduction methods can be credited to the fact that employees in certain departments can’t participate in furloughs because other employees would have to work overtime to replace them, Haydon explained in the release.
The last time city employees were asked to take unpaid time off was in 1994 and 1995. City officials said the duration of this pay-cut period is uncertain.
“So much depends on the economy turning around, and we believe that the continued downturn in the economy will not rebound anytime soon,” Haydon said in the release. “The city really relies on sales tax and property tax revenues to finance most of its operational expenses, and both sources have declined.
“Beyond that, we’re keeping a watchful eye on the state Legislature and the ongoing state budget crisis,” Haydon added in the release. “We hope that Sacramento understands the importance of local government revenues and refrains from taking that money away from municipalities in the future.”
For more information, contact the city manager’s office at 925-0951, Ext. 200.
This article appears in Nov 19-26, 2009.