San Rafael council brings ax down on 15 jobs

Marin Daily Journal

January 26, 2010

By Jennifer Upshaw Swartz

San Rafael city leaders at a special meeting Tuesday unanimously cut nearly 15 jobs from the city payroll in an effort to stave off a fiscal fiasco that tenured council members said was the worst they had seen in nearly 20 years.

"This has been the toughest budget cycle I've ever been through personally," Mayor Al Boro said. "It's also tough on all our employees and tough on our community."

"This has probably been the hardest cuts we've had to make in the last 16, 17 years. The economy has not been nice," to government workers, Councilwoman Barbara Heller said.

The cuts, $906,800 this year and $2.5 million next year, are part of a larger effort to close a $3.5 million gap this year and $4.4 million hole next year in the city's roughly $56 million general fund operating budget. Earlier this month, the council slashed $1.9 million this year and $2.7 million from next year's rolls. The deficit is tied to the poor economy.

Last week, another five jobs - two police officers, a police evidence technician, a public works equipment services attendant and a network support technician in information technology - were added to the layoff list that included the assistant to the city manager, an associate planner, a part-time community center program coordinator, an employee benefits analyst, a police parks ranger, the police personnel manager, a police dispatcher and a police call taker/records specialist.

Also eliminated was a vacant street sweeper operator position. An accounting assistant position will be reallocated so as not to draw from the general fund.

The city has said the newest jobs added to the list could have be saved if all labor groups agreed to consider a 5 percent pay cut citywide next year. All bargaining units except for those representing police and fire associations indicated their desire to work with the city, officials said.

Mayor Al Boro asked police Chief Matt Odetto whether the department - which lost seven positions - could still get the job done.

"Can we make it? Yes. Are we going to be as effective? No," Odetto said. "These cuts are going to hamper us severely. I'd be telling you an untruth if I said they weren't going to affect us.

"I'll tell you what - we serve our community very, very well," he said. "I really feel strongly about what's going on with our department and our city. I obviously think public safety is going to have to be our priority."

Rank-and-file public safety workers and their families did not speak to the council, but showed a strong presence in the audience during the hearing.

City planner Caron Parker encouraged unity among the city departments.

"I'd like to urge the council to consider the city as a whole, not as a conglomerate of different parts," she said. "This too shall pass. This city isn't dead. It isn't going anywhere. We have to kind of stick together and get focused and stay positive about the future."

Terri Hardesty, assistant to the city manager, who lost her job, urged the council to continue make communication with the community a focus.

"Don't forget about communicating to the public, speaking to them in a nonbureaucratic way, in a way that you can be approachable to them and be relevant in their lives," she said.

Cutting the serviceman from public works seriously hobbles the garage division, said Dave Hulbert, shop and equipment supervisor.

"I was floored when I learned one of my guys was up," he said. "I thought, 'How can we possibly maintain this fleet with two guys and myself?' I'm helpless.

"If people don't have vehicles, they aren't working," Hulbert said. "I think we are an extremely vital division of the city."

"We are profoundly aware of the effect these decisions will have on the organization and the people involved and your colleagues, our colleagues. We don't make these decisions lightly," Councilman Damon Connolly said.

"Public safety is our top priority," he said. "I still hope and believe we can find solutions."