Pupo To Ask City Council To Restore Voluntary Severance

Spokane City Manager Bill Pupo wants City Hall to slim down a little.

Tonight, he’ll ask the City Council to reinstate a voluntary severance program aimed at reducing the number of city employees.

In 1995, City Manager Roger Crum proposed the severance program to help the city balance a tight budget. Seventy jobs were cut before the plan was suspended last year.

Under the program, employees have the option of quitting in return for severance pay, with the amount they receive dependent on their number of years of service.

To qualify, employees must prove to their department heads and Pupo that their jobs could be divided among other workers or done away with altogether.

“I expect this to be the last year (of the program),” Pupo said.

During an afternoon briefing, council members will consider spending an additional $10,380 on the Coopers and Lybrand feasibility study of the River Park Square redevelopment project.

The San Francisco accounting firm had to do more work than expected on the $70,000 study, Pupo said.

The developers plan to reimburse the city for the $80,380 study, Pupo said.

A briefing for the council starts at 3:30 p.m. in the lower-level conference room of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.

, DataTimes