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August 4, 2010 in City
City of Spokane’s budget outlook grows even gloomier
Mayor looks to tab fees, union concessions to fill $12 million gap
More than 120 city employees could face pink slips at the end of the year unless city unions agree to concessions or the City Council increases taxes, officials warned Tuesday.
Two months after proposing a budget with more than 40 layoffs, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner told the Spokane City Council in a budgeting strategy session that faltering sales taxes and other factors could result in a 9 percent across-the-board cut to fill a possible $12 million hole.
“You can’t make $12 million in cuts without cutting something that’s very popular, that’s very loved by our citizens,” Verner told the council. “We are taking our tasks very, very seriously.”
In May, Verner forecast a 3 percent across-the-board cut that was dependent in part on persuading county leaders to move the city’s annexation of the West Plains to Jan. 1. But those negotiations have not advanced, and the city no longer is counting on the $2.5 million in taxes that would be raised from early annexation.
Verner said she does not plan to ask voters to raise property taxes beyond the city’s usual 1 percent increase. She also has ruled out asking for a fire bond this year to pay for new fire equipment.
“I just don’t think the voters have an appetite for new taxes,” she said.
However, Verner said she supports the implementation of a vehicle tab fee of $20 that can be imposed by the City Council without a public vote.
A $20 tab fee would be charged on more than 100,000 cars and raise more than $2 million, officials said. The money would have to be spent on street maintenance, but that won’t necessarily improve roads. That’s because council members said most of the current money used for streets would be shifted elsewhere to fill budget gaps.
A tab fee “is appropriate because it’s revenue taken from people who use the streets to pay for maintaining the streets,” Verner said. “We’d be able to stay at the same level,” she said. “Otherwise our street maintenance is going to have to decline.”
Council members also are considering a tax on pay parking lots, such as those operated downtown by Diamond Parking Service.
Councilman Richard Rush said the tax would be used to generate money to improve downtown and wouldn’t necessarily provide much short-term budget relief. He said improvements made with the money could stimulate economic development that could help the budget in the long-term.
Rush suggested a tax of $75 a year on each space, but only in paid surface lots as a way to encourage construction of parking garages.
“My point is not just to raise money; my point is to dedicate this to downtown infrastructure,” he said.
When council members were asked if they wanted to keep the parking tax as an option, all but Nancy McLaughlin raised their hands, the same tally as when members were asked about the tab fee. Councilman Jon Snyder was absent.
Council members debated whether cuts should be an equal percentage in all departments or if the burden should be placed mostly on departments other than police and fire.
Only Rush and McLaughlin raised their hands when asked who preferred an across-the-board strategy.
McLaughlin said state bargaining law makes it difficult to win concessions from fire and police unions – forcing other workers to take the burden of cuts. She said morale would suffer if some workers face a higher burden even after showing a willingness to concede.
“I’m not willing to protect police and fire if they aren’t willing to come to the table,” she said. “The real world out there has had to deal with a recession.”
But some council members said playing hardball with public safety unions is a losing battle and that services like the libraries will most likely have to accept higher percentage cuts.
Last year, the city’s fire union agreed to change its health plan but made no wage concessions. Instead, the city created an early retirement program, giving higher-paid veterans an incentive to leave. The police union agreed to forgo a pay increase in 2010. But members were given 52 hours a year more in vacation and a 4 percent raise in 2011.
Spokane Police Guild President Ernie Wuthrich said he doubts the police union would open up its contract this year since the city and union just inked its two-year deal at the end of 2009.
“We negotiated in good faith, and so did they,” Wuthrich said. “They know we have to come to the table next year.”
But Joe Cavanaugh, who leads the city’s largest union, Local 270, said even though most of the union’s membership has a contract that doesn’t expire until 2012, the group will work with administrators to save jobs.
“We’re more than willing to sit down and discuss any number of ways to decrease the general fund expenditures,” said Cavanaugh, who noted that any concessions would have to be voted on by 270’s membership.
Some council members argued that it may be easier to win concessions from unions if the council is willing to increase taxes or fees.
Council President Joe Shogan said the city should aim for budget cuts, tax or fee increases, and union concessions.
“I don’t think we can sit here and raise revenue and say, ‘Well, everything’s hunky-dory.’ It’s not true,” Shogan said. “I also don’t think the unions are going to be as inclined to make concessions if they don’t see some sort of action by the council on the revenue side.”
Some union leaders said if they are asked to make sacrifices, they would look favorably at attempts to increase revenue to plug a portion of the gap.
“Actions by all parties are appreciated by the others,” Cavanaugh said.
MAC faces angry crowd 
Dazzeetrader11 on August 04 at 1:49 a.m.
Well, well , well…and yet Verner spent $6 million on an old building for the cops. She, Rush, Synder should all be fired. These guys are dangerous when it comes to bankrupting the City. Shades of Obama?
When will these people learn to save and not tax. Another boondoggle by Verner and her crew. Kick them all out.
Remember when she said there wouldn’t be new taxes? Maybe she should sell off her new acquisitions and keep the City employees in jobs and forget her taxes. This is a crime!
She cares nothing for the people. She spent so much , she’s extended the deficit. Time for a new Council and a new Mayor.
Hard to escape this conclusion when she, Cooley and friends hid the costs from the public so she could begin her re-election. Fire em all. Remember in November….reform begins right there at home. I mean seriously…can they do anything right?
liarsinnews on August 04 at 6:14 a.m.
Seems to me Daisy Minken, they don`t have the leadership to do anything right, coupled to their reckless spending habits. When Mayor Verner keeps the likes of Gavin Cooley as financial guru, a bean counter that was the architect of the financial arrangements to pay for the Cowles parking garage shafting the taxpayers, even though the transaction was illegal because the culprits responsible were let off the hook, continues to work for her. The clandestine meetings, the secret deals, and a SPD that dictates the terms they work under and Verner and the Chief go along with it, I think you are right, ” Fire em all”, post haste.
deacon46 on August 04 at 6:44 a.m.
Replace them with more Bums. This screaming to replace the politicians is not accepting the fact that the ones who will replace the existing ones will be just as bad. It amazes many that “ones politican” isn’t going to be bad. Goodness how stupid. Don’t you think that the ones there now promised what your politican is now promising. Think. All politicians lie and pander to the issues and their supporters. It is time to hold whoever in power accountable, not let them get away with the stuff. But again your politician when elected is a saint and didn’t do what others acuse him of. BS. Think, folks. Tea Party is the same hypocrites as we now have.
JBlim on August 04 at 6:57 a.m.
Amen, William.
liarsinnews on August 04 at 7:56 a.m.
william: I should have emphasized the leadership more but expected most already know that. A good leader, say for example the Mayor, needs to be a motivator, lead by example, and for gosh sakes do not let the power broker elites run the city. The city with its population of 200,000 I`m sure, has a leader amongst us with the skills and integrity to fill the position. The sheep will follow. Voters however, will need to become politically literate. In Spokane we have too many political illiterates. In today`s environment, instead of finger pointing like you seem to have done, let the citizens that are sick and tired of the corruption do something about it. It may just work.
lewis8457 on August 04 at 8:34 a.m.
Since November 09 Verner and her clan have bought 11 million worth of property.
Fire all 7 officers that murdered Otto Zehm there is a million bucks right there. Karl Thompson has been proven to have lied to investigators and he is still pulling his 89 grand a year.
Take drug tests of all city employees, and fire all offenders, there is 5 million there. Actually I would bet we would lose half of the police and firemen, savings of BIG money.
Now i am supposed to care if Verners bad choices lead to lay offs?
Nope sorry I don’t care.
spokanada on August 04 at 9:03 a.m.
Great post William. Lewis, I don’t agree with drug testing but as long as the rest of us are subject to testing I see no reason not to test city employees.
MrNatural on August 04 at 9:18 a.m.
Y’ know it’s a darn shame that we all can’t work together without spite to solve OUR city’s budget crisis. That being said what price are we to pay for the quality we desire in our city?
Face it, the more cutbacks the less quality, service, and repair. Get used to peanut butter and jelly for dinner and see if you can try to refrain from being a condescending malcontent.
As for the leadership, well polarization is the norm now unfortunately. I sort of agree with William but with the notion that anyone can say how they will run government until confronted with the realization of actually doing so…it seems like such a thankless and arduous task these days.
lewis8457 on August 04 at 9:50 a.m.
spokanada i don’t believe in drug testing either but if i have to take one to clean toilets then a guy carrying a gun sure as hell should take one too.
lewis8457 on August 04 at 10:07 a.m.
Government needs to work for the people, this condescending malcontent knows that. I also know communication is key. We have no communication in Spokane, where can we go? To the Monday night circus at city hall where I can say my peace after I sit through 5 hours of boredom? And then what? Nothing., basically I blew off steam.
Have you ever written a letter to Mayor Verner? Did she answer, nope didn’t think so. Any politician worth his or her salt knows about form letters. They take a second to send and build support you may need at some time in the future. Unanswered letters only tend to upset people.
The average person has story to tell, any good customer service person knows that. Let them tell their story and then tell them you will look into it, one more happy supporter. Become that person and people will love you.
She would know a lot more if she listened to the people. But no one listens here and if they do they have so many idiots around them it is hard to get anything done.
I know you don’t spend money you don’t have, with just that one thought I could run the city better then she is right now, hands down.
dagney on August 04 at 10:31 a.m.
The city of Spokane definitely needs to prioritize. Key services - like road repair and maintenance and police and fire do need to be funded. But police and fire personnel are probably over-compensated. This is a bad economy and everyone should be willing to pitch in. The city of Spokane also needs to stop buying property. They can’t maintain what they already have! Why on earth they ever got involved with River Park Square … well, let’s just say it was a huge mistake and if the parties involved in that fiasco are still hanging around City Hall, they should be thrown out. No secret meetings and no secret deals either. We need fiscal responsibility - now more than ever. Thanks to Nancy McLaughlin for trying to save us money.
deacon46 on August 04 at 10:47 a.m.
The noisey wheel gets the grease. One holds the Government accountable by being vocal, attend town council meetings, write letters, and ask questions, use the media, form groups, etc. Why and why not are hard questions for politicians to answer. Yelling and screaming is fine but hard questions gets their attention. You have to realize that politicians are yellers and are very good at it. But usually they have very little substance. They pander to the noisey wheel. Ask the hard questions. And over and over again. Politicians assume nothing said is their free pass to their agendas. Special interest groups wine and dine these folks but noise makes them nervous and attentive. After all they pander to the noise and ignore the silence. The noise needs to have focus. A favorite noise of mine is the Police and Fire Department free passes during hard economic times, like now. They have big noise on their sides but we citizens are not heard because we are afraid to speak up. They threaten us with work stoppages and slow downs- resulting in poor safety, etc. But like anyone esle if they were to loose their jobs (strike and be fired) they would not find work very easy either. They need to work as well.
Dazzeetrader11 on August 04 at 11:19 a.m.
I don’t know if any of you agree with me. Verner, in here 2.5 years at the helm, has clearly shown a disdain for the people who voted her in. She’s not just way over her head, she’s shown nothing but disregard for common sense.
She really needs to go elsewhere. And what you see in this article is only the tip of the iceberg. More is coming. Ms Verner continues to hide expensive things from the people.
Dazzeetrader11 on August 04 at 11:32 a.m.
One thought…..Verner should tax bikes, make them have a license and make their owners GET a license too. All these greenies…they want streets and rights…make them pay just like motorists do. Fair is fair. She won’t because, like the police, bikes and greenies are her constituency.
It’s a good thought though. A better thought is to have Shannon Sullivan recall the Mayor for incompetence and greed.
dallison on August 04 at 12:17 p.m.
Most city employee’s do take random drug and alcohol tests.
Water,sewer,garbage ,streets and fleet services do but i don’t know about police and fire.
monkeyman on August 04 at 1:16 p.m.
“L.A. pensions may consume a third of city’s general fund by 2015”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-city-pensions-20100804,0,5060130.story
…on topic for those who are interested.
monkeyman on August 04 at 1:34 p.m.
“More Workers Face Pay Cuts, Not Furloughs”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/business/economy/04paycuts.html
“Pay cuts are appearing most frequently among state and local governments, which are under extraordinary budget pressures and have often already tried furloughs, i.e., docking pay in exchange for time off. Warning that they will have to lay off people otherwise, many governors and mayors are pressing public employee unions to accept a reduction in salary of a few percentage points, without getting days off in exchange.”
No one is special…
rvadams on August 04 at 3:43 p.m.
City council and the Mayor must be afraid of making the cuts in fire and police. I don’t see much waste in the police but there are way more cheifs at a fire than needs to be. The library has given and given back a number of years.
The city feeds, cloths, and houses the fire department, then they get a great work schedule that allows a good number of them to take on second business carreers on their time off. Other cities have forced the fire departments into 8 or 10 hour shifts, than send them home to feed and shelter themselves. A change to a different schedule maybe painful to the fire department to be giving up previliges they have acquired over the years. They have been getting great pay, bennifits and housing all in the name of putting their life on the line. If they can realize they can maintain their good income, but cut the other costs the city would save a bundle.
west on August 04 at 10:00 p.m.
City fire and police consume 40 percent of budget! And..they are sacred cows…un touchable. When Verner and the council see them in full uniform they shake and quiver and hang their heads.low…the powerful!!
Dazzeetrader11 on August 04 at 10:42 p.m.
More than 50% West.
Ron_the_Cop on August 04 at 10:56 p.m.
Daisy I’m with you with putting in a call to Shannon. Further Verner has no spine to make the necessary changes. OK bikes are nice. I have issues with the sustainability thing. Seems to be there are much more immediate issues that need to be dealt with.
See my previous punch list for Mayor Verner:
http://tinyurl.com/25pbh7t
eagleproducer on August 07 at 10:39 a.m.
dick adams: We can’t get rid of Gavin Cooley. Otherwise we could no longer call City Hall “Irish Catholic Welfare.”
west: The firefighters and police should get a broom and clean in between calls. I don’t see why they can’t help remove graffiti, keep the streets clean and a host of other duties instead of sitting in their units or fire stations. Their presence would make the public realize how little actual work they’ve done in the past and re-evaluate both their bloated salaries and status as heroes to the community.
BitofBacon on August 10 at 11:56 a.m.
Spoketucky-maybe we should have teachers sweep the floors, too to justify their salaries.