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November 2, 2010 in City
City jobs on the line as mayor presents budget
Verner still hopes for union concessions
Spokane Street Department crew members, from left, Curt Borders, Sean Dennison and Rich Stapleton lay asphalt at Cedar Street and College Avenue. With budget cuts looming, the street department might lose 14 positions.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner presented her grim 2011 budget to the City Council on Monday still without having achieved union concessions.
That means the loss of 120 city jobs remains possible, if not likely.
The mayor, however, said she hasn’t given up.
“The only way at this point to save the jobs – since there isn’t any more money in revenue – would be for the unions to agree to pay freezes and the assistance with the medical benefits,” Verner said.
Verner asked employees in September to forgo their 2011 pay raises and to cover a higher amount of their medical expenses to prevent job losses. Officials have said unions that agree to her request will not face layoffs in 2011.
If the layoffs move forward, administrators say the public will notice a difference in city services.
“We’re not going to be able to do more with less; we’re going to have to do less with less,” said Spokane police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.
Of the 120 jobs that would be eliminated, about 70 are filled.
The lost jobs include:
• 28 positions in the fire department, including 13 employed firefighters.
• 45 1/2 positions in the police department, including 38 officer positions, of which 35 are filled.
• 14 positions in the street department, including six that are filled.
• 7 1/2 positions in the building department, including five that are filled.
• One public defender and one assistant city attorney.
Kirkpatrick said she will shift investigation resources to basic policing services.
“The public can expect to feel the service impacts by not having the same level of detective follow-up that they’re accustomed to today,” she said.
If layoffs move ahead in the fire department, the cuts will result in the closure of a fire station, likely No. 9 at 1722 S. Bernard St., or in the reduction of personnel at several stations. Verner said she hasn’t decided which option she would choose, but that if she decides to reduce staffing at all stations, the decision would need approval of the Spokane Firefighters Union.
“Further reduction on apparatus on the street will certainly affect response time,” said Fire Chief Bobby Williams. “If we have to reduce companies, that means our capability to handle multiple calls is reduced.”
Layoffs in the street department would eliminate the city’s utility patching crew. In the summer, those workers fix streets opened to deal with water and sewer problems. In other seasons, they shift to the normal street duties, including street cleaning, pothole filling and snow plowing.
“It impacts everything,” said Utilities Director Dave Mandyke. “It’s a group of people that do a lot of things.”
Mandyke said the layoffs mean that in a snow emergency, the city would have to divert more water and sewer employees to plowing duty. He noted that there’s a delay of about 24 hours before those utility workers can make the transition to plowing because of work rules. There’s also a significant cost to the street department when it uses water or sewer employees, he said.
None of the city’s unions has agreed to the mayor’s request, though officials say none has ruled out making concessions.
“We’re not willing to forgo our pay raise next year,” Spokane Police Guild President Ernie Wuthrich said in a recent interview. Unlike most city employees, police officers did not get a cost-of-living raise this year. Instead, they were given an extra week of vacation in contract negotiations last year. Wuthrich said the union has suggested alternatives to Verner’s request.
“There’s other ways to save money, and it would equal exactly what they’re asking for,” said Wuthrich, who will be demoted based on seniority from detective to corporal if layoffs move ahead as planned.
Acting Human Resources Director Erin Jacobson said the guild has presented other options, but “nothing that they have presented would result in an equal amount of savings.”
Wuthrich and Jacobson declined to provide details, citing ongoing negotiations.
The guild recently leased 12 billboards, some addressing budget issues. One on Division Street, for instance, lists the staffing levels of Spokane, Seattle and Tacoma. Spokane traditionally has had a low ratio of officers per 1,000 residents compared with other cities of similar size, and that ratio will fall next year under Verner’s proposed budget.
Wuthrich said the guild decided to pay for the signs because “We don’t usually get a fair shake in the news.”
“Most of them are basically public information, letting people know that we’re for them no matter what the city decides to do with our staffing,” Wuthrich said.
Longtime Spokane Library Trustee Ned Barnes made light of the billboards last week at public hearing about the possible closure of the East Side Library. Although the mayor and City Council set the total amount spent on libraries, library trustees decide how to spend that money.
“I drive to work and I can see a big billboard, ‘Don’t cut the police,’ and it’s (from) the Police Guild,” Barnes told the audience after explaining cuts the library system has made. “I’m not going to … well, I could say something, but it would be obscene.”
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
Dazzeetrader11 on November 02 at 12:18 a.m.
Not sure what the author means..”Of the 120 jobs that would be eliminated, about 70 are filled”…anyone?
bvml on November 02 at 2:39 a.m.
I was at the City Council meeting last night. There are 50 vacancies right now that they will not fill, so 70 would be laid off to hit the 120 target.
WillyPeter on November 02 at 4:58 a.m.
Unions again proving to be their own worst enemy…
drywitt99 on November 02 at 5:27 a.m.
Daisy:
The other 50 having been authorized, but not currently filled??
For example:
A department has 12 present employees; and an additional 5 authorized positions not yet filled.
The department is cut to 10 positions….2 present employees will be laid off…..the other 5 positions will not be filled.
In this example: 7 positions would be eliminated, with 2 filled.
Just a guess.
drywitt99 on November 02 at 5:28 a.m.
wp:
As long as there are Republicans, the unions will NEVER be their own worst enemy.
Orange on November 02 at 6:41 a.m.
Willy’s right. Dump the unions, and you’ll have a lot more wriggle room in that budget.
Scoutster on November 02 at 6:44 a.m.
I would be VERY willing to take a week of vacation instead of a COLA when inflation is less than 2%. It’s like a 5% pay raise. Nice job, kids in blue!
I doubt if anyone will fall for that a second year.
45 fewer armed soldiers on the streets of Spokane sounds like good public policy to me.
drywitt99 on November 02 at 6:46 a.m.
Take your own garbage to the dump…..put out your own fires…..pave your own streets……and we’d have even more wiggle room!!
lewis8457 on November 02 at 7:44 a.m.
But we still have enough money to consider building a 8 million dollar bridge to the U district.
misjustice on November 02 at 7:49 a.m.
“Wuthrich said the guild decided to pay for the signs because “We don’t usually get a fair shake in the news.”
What the _____ Wuthrich? And WHY do you think that is?
Bust this dufus down to corporal, NOW!
I can hardly wait to hear Annie’s listo of calls that the cops will no longer respond to…
Marksman on November 02 at 8:09 a.m.
I have been under the mistaken impression that governments have chief executives in order to make things run efficiently. Why are the Police and Fire Departments the first places the Pols cut? I thought essential services include Public safety. Bad Mayor, no assistants!
west on November 02 at 8:26 a.m.
How many firemen in city? Including all officers? 120? At $35,000,000 budget for salaries and benefits equals $219,000 for each person..is this right numbers? Verners budget gives the Fire dept budget for salaries and benefits. Even if it has 240 employees,still over $100,000 for each one………
Police dept probably has same statistics. Poor city, in a hole with super high paid employees and no taxes to pay their wages. ha..maybe a $100 million bond issued to Spokane’s poor people to pay city salaries is next in line. And the poor folk by the thousands who use the library won’t be able to read books because the cities unions won’t budge…its ‘all about me’, like the song goes…
liarsinnews on November 02 at 8:42 a.m.
Mayor Verner, does not have the leadership skills as our CEO, notwithstanding leaving the heavy lifting to Gavin Cooley, the financial guru for the Lilac City. Cooley is a carry over from former Mayor Powers who sold the citizens out by letting the Cowles off the hook regarding criminal charges passing an ordinance not to charge the family for their illegal dealings about the River Park Square heist. Cooley subsequently was the architect in 2005, giving the RPS parking garage back to the Cowleses and paying for the garage anyway and screwing the taxpayers until the year 2030 to pay off the debt. Verner as a council member at the time, agreed and voted yes to rob the taxpayers with a phony excuse saying how sick to her stomach she was to vote yes for the ordinance. Verner, is an accomplice to the crime in my opinion.
valleyman on November 02 at 9:51 a.m.
Verner is a typical big-government liberal… When you can’t spend your way out of a mess, try taxing your way out. When that fails because the people tell you no, cut where it hurts the most and hope and pray the people won’t put up with the loss of police and fire and that they will pass your infernal taxes when you propose them as the salvation of all in this great calamity.
Meanwhile, give huge raises to the departmental bureaucrats who run the offices that are so full of the inefficiencies that are sapping every last ounce of strength this once great city had.
I don’t have a vote in the city, but I pray the citizens of Spokane hear the reality of Verner’s message loud and clear and show her the door when she’s up for a vote…
Pat O'Leary on November 02 at 10:20 a.m.
valleyman, since you aren’t a resident, your opinion is irrelevant. Kindly butt out. You tend to your knitting and we’ll tend to ours.
valleyman on November 02 at 10:24 a.m.
Well Pat O’Buddy… I work in the city and my business is impacted daily by the decisions of Verner, so I’ll kindly ask you to respect my opinion despite the fact you don’t like what I have to say… You must be one of those who got a raise while others got the pink slips…
mdriftmeyer on November 02 at 10:26 a.m.
Let me get this straight: Conservatives are complaining that she’s being fiscally conservative and giving options to department to freeze cost of living for 2011 and to take a greater responsibility on their paycheck for health care and this is being labeled as not doing the job as a CEO?
What the hell do you think a CEO does when surplus isn’t existing? They slash payroll.
She’s actually giving them a chance to stay on payroll, responsibly.
Keep that intelligence bar at an all-time low, per usual.
Dazzeetrader11 on November 02 at 10:26 a.m.
No matter on who’s right or wrong, it’s clear Verner just isn’t qualified to manage Spokane. She has spent millions upon millions for old buildings and then spent millions in remodelling. She’s spent $12 million so far when she was offered space at 10% of the cost… and then has the nerve to block the public’s ROI requests so the public cannot see the total spent.
Now, she’s trying to feather her future landing by giveing acres of prime land to the Tribe on land just East of Monroe on the the river. She’ll be rejoining them for work..if she’s lucky.
Unions aren’t the culprits here. She’s reneging on an ill thought out contract she made willingly because the Unions funded her campaign 3 years ago. Now, she’s blaming them for her difficulties.
The $18 million for river clean up is now gone…and it didn’t go for cleanup. Now, she says she will raise utility taxes to cover her job losses. She just spent $600 on her bike paths …and there is no way the money cover maintenence…so she’ll need more money to repair them. This woman is a disaster. Not sure about you guys, but I know she’d be long gone if she was running a corporation.
NO on Verner! Restore Spokane! NO on utility rate increases! No on car tab increases. No on parking lot taxes. NO on Verner. NO on Snyder and Rush! Arghhhhhhh!
Dazzeetrader11 on November 02 at 10:29 a.m.
Hey Drift..you’re need some chapstick for kissing bumm? You must be chapped poor dear….you kiss bumm too much. Verner’s.! lo
O’Leary..all are welcome here. Valley should voice his concerns…apparently he has some “skin” in this game.
hersfeld on November 02 at 10:48 a.m.
According to the State of Washington (see below) the “average” wage for Spokane law enforcement is $30.05. Assuming 40 hours, 4 weeks per month times twelve gives you gross annual income of $57,696. Now knowing they have gold plated medical and four weeks paid vacation and lots and lots of overtime the average police officer in Spokane averages over $80,000 in wages and benefits. (my brother in law is a cop and I ask).
Draw your own conclusions.
http://www.workforceexplorer.com/cgi/databrowsing/occExplorerQSDetails.asp?searchCriteria=police&careerID=&menuChoice=occExplorer&geogArea=5304000063&soccode=333051&search=Explore+Occupation
west on November 02 at 10:50 a.m.
I like the headline picture, one guy working and two other guys leaning on their shovels……pray Spokane doesn’t get snow this winter..won’t be much plowing at all.
misjustice on November 02 at 11:21 a.m.
I like the 2nd picture, the one of the billboard(s) that the Guild is paying for. Wow! 12 billboards! That must have cost a pretty penny.
In fact, I like the 2nd pic so much that I saved a copy to my pics folder; that way I can bring it up every once in a while, look at it, and remember…
Dazzeetrader11 on November 02 at 11:22 a.m.
It’s the Mayor that cannot manage. Cooley’s given her bad advice and incorrect financials…both need to go get jobs. He’s the worst manipulator on money in the past 30 years. He should be fired as should Verner. One’s incompetent and the other simply cannot tell the truth.
greenlibertarian on November 02 at 11:25 a.m.
“Keep that intelligence bar at an all-time low, per usual.”
-mdriftmeyer on November 02 at 10:26 a.m.
An astute observation, unfortunately.
valleyman on November 02 at 11:30 a.m.
Yes greenlib and mdriftmeyer… share your views or be ignorant…
We the little people can’t possibly hold an educated opinion because you look down your noses at the unwashed conservatives…
zelda on November 02 at 12:35 p.m.
The police and firefighters complaining about uncompetitive wages and no COLA doesn’t cut it with me. Most large employers in the private sector set their wage rates on a national level with regional adjustments for standard of living differences.
The median price of a house w/taxes in King County is way above Spokane and CDA. That’s why the salaries are higher over there and having a healthier year-to-year economy in the Puget Sound region means there’s more competition for jobs which boosts wages.
I don’t know what COL impacts the unions are talking about since we are living in a deflationary economy. Makes me wonder what “market basket of goods” they’re using to make their calculations — the rising price of a Mercedes S Class sedan?
As for why the police and fire department are hardest hit w/layoffs, the reason is that they’re the largest percentage of the city’s expenditures. They have the most people.
The city has already imposed a hiring freeze, meaning no replacements for attrition which can be counted among the 120 positions for a net loss of 70 jobs if push comes to shove.
What I don’t get is why the S-R thinks this is possible but not probable. The statement is made but not explained (unless I missed something).
Scoutster on November 02 at 12:38 p.m.
Indeed, it seems Verner is doing the job just as it is laid out for her.
Tough decisions in this climate, and she’s making them. She didn’t create the union thugs, she just has to work with them now.
Scoutster on November 02 at 12:40 p.m.
Valleyman…
Do others have that much power over your own intelligence?
(BTW….IMHO, you are welcome to air your views all you want just like anyone else.)
PlanB on November 02 at 12:42 p.m.
I’m giving Verner the benefit of the doubt by hoping that she sticks to her guns and goes ahead with the layoffs.
I don’t care how many cops Tacoma has, we have excess law enforcement resources and have for many years. It is a matter of setting priorities on how you use those resources, and for an example we have never needed any ‘special emphasis patrols’, ever. Get the police doing real police work rather than harassing decent citizens.
Good thing Ernie and his band of thugs have a lot of money - those billboards are disgusting. “To protect and serve” - yea, right. Think about it - how does the guild protect or serve anyone other than themselves?
And although I have great respect for our firefighters, there too we have an excess of resources. Budget problems or not, these departments need to be right-sized.
nitro71 on November 02 at 12:50 p.m.
Police don’t respond unless the criminal is present so I don’t see a huge difference in how they investigate crimes. Police don’t prevent crime. They are supposed to respond and investigate. Since they don’t respond unless the stupid criminal hasn’t ran off I really don’t see a need for them. Put up more red light cameras and get rid of more police. I for one am tired of watching police officers speed and let their friends off for drunk driving.
Ed Byrnes on November 02 at 2:01 p.m.
I would be impressed if Mayor Verner had actually conducted a cost-benefit analysis of administrative positions in city government.
One example would be whether the costs of her economic development staff is less than the tax revenues that can be attributed to their efforts.
Given how Spokane is in a downward economic spiral my guess is that the data would indicate a cost detriment rather than cost benefit for the economic development staff.
My additional guess is that i will be unimpressed with Mayor Verner’s approach to budget analysis.
james_l on November 02 at 3:32 p.m.
To the right wingers, who must be absolutely salivating over the prospect of government workers being laid off:
Well, wingers, it looks like you may get your wish. It is a very courageous stand for Verner to take to “do less with less” after having to “do more with less” for the last couple years.
Just remember that when you can’t get to the grocery store during a snowstorm, when your tea kettle starts a fire and you try to call the fire department, when your car is hit by some drunken Spokesman Review blog poster and you call 911, or when there are people in your neighborhood that are different from you.
If everyone else (especially the workers) has to make do with less, then you may have to make do with less service. Lock up your valuables and get a bigger SUV.
Spokane_Citizen on November 02 at 6:22 p.m.
Reliable sources tell me that Daisy doesn’t drive under her normal state of ‘ 3 sheets to wind’….she does the responsible thing; stays home and blogs in this forum (which explains a great deal)!
east on November 02 at 8:17 p.m.
Hey West before you go making judgments about the three guys on the front page, maybe you should get informed on how this process works. I seriously doubt they stand there holding a shovel. Can you tell me if somebody was to come to your work (if you work) and snapped a picture of you, it would show you working every moment or might it catch you at a moment that it looked like you were taking a break. You don’t know how many photographs were taken this day by the reporter and he/she chose this one for whatever reason.
west on November 02 at 10:47 p.m.
east…well, a picture is worth a thousand words….
Sadbuttrue on November 03 at 5:41 p.m.
“The public can expect to feel the service impacts by not having the same level of detective follow-up that they’re accustomed to today,” she said.”
In other words, the cops will fixate on splashy and useless revenue-enhancing “emphasis patrols” and drug investigations, instead of getting you your stolen snow blower back, or locking up the guy who beat you up.
But don’t give up. Even in these tight times, there are ways of manipulating the police so that you get the services you deserve:
1). If you are suffering unreasonable levels of property crime (a very low to non-existent priority for the police), don’t give up like pastor Creach did and get yourself killed by a local thug in blue who is tired of your burglary complaints. Instead, occasionally sprinkle some doobies on the street in front of your house and call THAT in. You will instantly achieve an overwhelming 24/7 police presence and never experience another burglary.
2). If your life is being threatened, get in your car and run every single red light you can find. You will quickly get the attention of the revenue enhancing “emphasis patrol” units, and will be in their safe hands. Alternatively, since this is after all Spokane, maybe you WONT be safe in their hands.
Be creative. Learn to think like a cop, that is, think like a whining, sniveling self-pitying, cowardly greedy person primarily concerned with your own hide who be willing to beggar your neighbor at the drop of the hat, and most importantly, saving your own skin above all to collect that lucrative pension.
Rock60 on November 03 at 5:43 p.m.
Regretfully there are never layoffs. Unions win. Taxpayers suck it up.
jimbock on November 03 at 7:30 p.m.
Hey west,
Those city workers are waiting for the dump truck driver to unload the asphalt mix onto the ground so they can finish the hole. maybe if you look at the picture a little closer you would see that.
Jasper105 on November 05 at 9:43 p.m.
the mayor is lying. she is refusing to separate wages from medical. how can she refuse offers to give up raises. she will only take it if it includes medical.