Spokane7
65°
September 22, 2010 in City
City layoff list puts 120 workers at risk
Department heads consider options for getting by with fewer employees
Spokane administrators next week will inform about 120 workers that they will lose their jobs by the end of the year.
Some could be demoted but remain on the city payroll.
Mayor Mary Verner said that the notices will be given to affected workers on Oct. 1 but that unions will have more time to agree to concessions to lower the number of pink slips.
“I will not turn down a reasonable proposal that helps us save jobs and services for the city,” Verner said during an interview late last week. “We really just don’t have the flexibility to offer very much at this point except saving jobs.”
Earlier this month, Verner announced that she was asking unions to give up their 2010 pay raises and to cover more of the cost of health insurance.
Erin Jacobson, the city’s acting human resources director, said the city is working through civil service and contract rules to finalize the lists of layoff and demotion notices.
Included in the cuts would be 47 positions in the police department and 28 in the fire department. City officials did not have firm numbers immediately available for other departments.
The number of layoffs is based on a 9 percent cut in most city departments funded primarily through taxes. About 800 workers in the city’s trash, water, sewer and other departments funded by utility fees are not affected by the cuts.
Kristy Pettit, president of the Spokane Managerial and Professional Association, said her group has not been told how many jobs could be lost in the union, which represents about 320 workers.
“We’ve been asking the city for quite a while for a list,” Pettit said. “It’s a little difficult to negotiate if you don’t know what you’re up against.”
Still, Pettit and other city union leaders say they will work to prevent job losses.
Spokane Fire Chief Bobby Williams said 15 of the 28 positions have been kept unfilled in fear of layoffs. It’s possible, he said, that enough employees will retire to prevent any firefighter from losing a job.
Even if pink slips are avoided, he said, losing 28 positions would have a serious effect on the department’s service levels.
Williams said he has proposed two ways to cut the jobs with different implications to service and response times. One possibility would lower from six to two the number of stations that have four on-duty firefighters.
Another would close one of the city’s 14 stations – possibly Station No. 9, at 1722 S. Bernard St., and lower from six to five the number of stations with four on-duty firefighters.
Police Officer Jennifer De Ruwe said that of the 47 police positions slated to be lost, the department estimates that about 10 will be vacant through retirements or other departures.
Cuts planned by Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, if necessary, include elimination of a fraud investigation unit, reduction of the Neighborhood Resource Officer program from six to two officers and cutting two K-9 officers, De Ruwe said.
Verner said the city lacks as much flexibility as it did a year ago when union concessions helped prevent layoffs. Employee groups were given wide flexibility in creating savings.
Firefighters, for instance, gave up no pay or benefits. Instead, the city gave them an early retirement plan that saves money by removing higher-paid veterans from the payroll. The Spokane Police Guild agreed to forgo a pay raise in 2010 in exchange for 52 hours extra in vacation.
“I think we’re of a common understanding,” Verner said. “They understand what my options are, and I understand that it’s challenging for them and that they have a lot of work to do with their members.”
Chief Financial Officer Gavin Cooley noted that workers in governments across the country have been making similar concessions to save jobs.
“I really think we’re having productive dialogue,” Cooley said. “I would say the tone of all the labor discussions right now is very positive.”
Unless concessions are made, workers who receive pink slips will be on the payroll until Christmas – the final day of the last full pay period of the year, Jacobson said.
“We all looked at the calendar and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ ”
MAC faces angry crowd 
Albert on September 22 at 6:41 a.m.
What a great way to wake up to a cup of coffee and a “right on!” Lay off more cops!!! Keep the firefighters. Let more of the dead weight civil “do nothing” employees go as well. Perhaps we can see more people out in the “normal” workplace - maybe even starting their own businesses and actually paying taxes in lieu of stealing them, i.e. city inflated payrolls. Great news for sure.
madscientist on September 22 at 7:02 a.m.
Albert, for once I agree with you! Great post. Keep up the good work.
liarsinnews on September 22 at 7:02 a.m.
Isn`t Mary Verner so cute? Verner is so transparent, Verner has the numbers to lay off police and fire, but the rest of some dead wood, she should have gotten rid of long ago, cutie keeps on the payroll. Verner knows full well she is scarring the hell out of the cry baby seniors. Not me, over 80 yo, I`m protected by S&W!! I also prefer an ambulance to a couple of fire trucks parked in front of my house. Talk about lack of leadership. Verner, has to be the worst CEO ever. Period!!
Rock60 on September 22 at 7:20 a.m.
Two years of unemployment.
PhiltheBibliophil on September 22 at 7:24 a.m.
To bad Verner isn’t one of the ones getting laid off!
Ninch on September 22 at 7:26 a.m.
I am most curious about the number managers listed to be laid off because that is where the waste lies… i.e. with redundant mid-management and elite upper management who don’t manage. Some managers are hard workers (and effective) but way too many do not know what work entails.
mauijim on September 22 at 7:45 a.m.
Perhaps the city can get a loan from the county. They like to throw away good money.
monkeyman on September 22 at 8:01 a.m.
I hope they take the guns away BEFORE breaking the news to the police guys.
Smokie on September 22 at 8:22 a.m.
“Firefighters, for instance, gave up no pay or benefits. Instead, the city gave them an early retirement plan that saves money by removing higher-paid veterans from the payroll.”
Mr. Brunt seems to have forgotten that firefighters also agreed to a high deductible insurance plan, saving the city an additional $400,000.
This is pretty typical reporting from the Spokesman. A couple of years ago, Spokane firefighters worked two additional days for free to help out the city budget. Press release after press release went out to the Spokesman-Review and they never bothered to report it.
cdaterry1 on September 22 at 8:30 a.m.
These are very very hard times for All of the economy. Why not consider a 15-20% (or what ever it takes to balance the budget) across the ranks of All city employees - including their health and pension benefits???…..instead of adding more people to the swelling unemployment ranks?? Wouldn’t be better to preserve sevices and jobs - if there “moral” cannot handle it then let them leave and go find out what the real world is about
monkeyman on September 22 at 8:48 a.m.
@ Smokie on September 22 at 8:22 a.m.
“This is pretty typical reporting from the Spokesman. A couple of years ago, Spokane firefighters worked two additional days for free to help out the city budget.”
You need more punch given the current hard times. Perhaps two months of free work might make news. In fact, the ones to be informed about pink slips may even agree to that. The unions will have to figure out a way to spread the pain.
avocet on September 22 at 8:57 a.m.
So typical. Cut public safety and other highly visible services even more, while the real waste in the form of the dead wood in hidden offices continues. And let’s not forget all the “five leaning on shovels while one works” we see in city crews ALL the time.
We’re not stupid to this “stick it to the taxpayers for not coughing up more” BS. It’s infuriating.
Smokie on September 22 at 9:06 a.m.
MonkeyMan, The main point of my posting was that firefighters made changes to their insurance plan. This saved the city $400,000. Mr. Brunt failed to report this today.
I don’t think there will ever be enough “punch” to satisfy the few who will never be satisfied. It would be a futile and foolhardy effort to try.
Again - The firefighters union makes concessions - again and again. The S-R fails to report these concessions - again and again. Now, why would they not report concessions made by a union? Hmmmm.
MrNatural on September 22 at 9:10 a.m.
Once again I am underwhelmed by people’s compassion for their fellow man. Never mind that these employees have families and mortgages, never mind that their thankless occupations are constantly slandered by condescending malcontents while they serve the public. Go ahead and revel in someone else’s misery if that gets you off…One would think that if you have been impacted by layoffs that you would at least be sympathetic.
Ask the next small business if they can afford the security or fire suppression without police and fire. Ask them if they can deal with dishonest competition without balance from the regulations they asked for to provide fairness. Let the small business man afford the necessary infrastructure.
Last I recall it was this same fickle citizenry that elects the officials and determines that “There ought to be a law” and creates the government that exists…
I do accept the need for payroll reductions on government employees in this difficult economic time but I cannot accept the vitriol and insult toward these people, neighbors, and friends.
jonathanb on September 22 at 9:53 a.m.
Smokie,
It is true that going to a high-deductible plan was noted by city officials when they agreed to create the early retirement plan late last year in an effort to save firefighting jobs. However, that medical plan was in the works before the city asked unions for concessions in 2009. Local 29’s labor contract — approved in June 2008 — promised to “work toward the concept of a high deductible medical plan” by Jan. 1, 2010.
Albert on September 22 at 10:16 a.m.
Just another passing thought…why not fire Annie K? She could then look for another police chief job and we could save $200K. Her very limited duties could be assumed by the various command staff. Cut at the top and work down.
worthasecondlook on September 22 at 10:25 a.m.
I think these city employees are doing a good job, no complaints here. I also have no problem paying more taxes to maintain the good job they are doing. Cut welfare, require anyone on unemployment or welfare to volunteer full time cleaning up streets, helping seniors get around etc. Everyone should have a task in a society
Smokie on September 22 at 10:54 a.m.
Actually Jonathan, that is true but somewhat incomplete. In the agreement, it was was noted that if this process had not been completed by January 1, 2010 only the medical section of the contract would be be renegotiated. That’s it - just a renegotiation of that section.
In the end, firefighters voted for a very substantial reduction in their health insurance.
You are correct when you say the city viewed this substantial reduction as a concession. So did the union and the city council.
So let me get this straight - the union views this as a concession, the city administration views this as a concession, the city council views this as a concession. The only entity that doesn’t view this as a concession is the Spokesman-Review, as represented by Jonathan Brunt.
You didn’t even bother parenthetically mentioning the high-deductible plan in your story. Wouldn’t you say that this is another over-the-top instance of bias against the firefighters union by the S-R?
deacon46 on September 22 at 11:30 a.m.
What is missing in these times is the realization that money can be saved and productivity increased if Reasonable Pay for Reasonable Work was enforced. Unions and spineless city managers have created very high paying jobs that cannot be justified if the work is analyzed against value. Value to us taxpayers.
de3 on September 22 at 12:10 p.m.
Smokie, I don’t think we should jump to a conclusion that Mr Brunt or the SR is biased against the firefighter’s union based on this story. The SR has severely reduced their own staff for several years. I suspect this is today reflected in stories that are not as complete as many of us would like to see. In a way, the SR reporters, who I believe are also union members, are in a similar situation due to their own cut backs.
Your contribution to the discussion is good - bringing light to past concessions is of value to us readers trying to understand the whole story.
PlanB on September 22 at 12:21 p.m.
“Spokane Police Guild agreed to forgo a pay raise in 2010 in exchange for 52 hours extra in vacation.” What a joke. Same pay, more vacation. Could someone please enlighten me as to how that was a sacrifice or helped the city budget?
In the private sector, temporary pay cuts work. I’ve been through it and we were glad to help out by taking an actual financial hit in order to save jobs. Fact is we saw it as good management because by keeping people and skills, it improved the business. But it did require actual sacrifice, delaying of raises, and ultimately less income.
nw9999 on September 22 at 6:51 p.m.
I am one of the workers you are all talking about. I agree with what many have said. Let’s have some perspective. firefighter’s do not make outrageous amounts. They make as much or less than a tattoo artist, car salesman, drug reps, UPS drivers, nurses, and much of corporate low/mid level managers. City of Spokane firefighters get paid as much or less then similar departments, including some in Spokane County. The other fire departments in the county are not asking for their employees to give up money, and they are maintaining or improving service. Firefighters work over 46-52 hours a week, every week with no over time. That is over 320 hours a year more than the average worker. There are firefighters working every day, 24/7 including holidays. Tell me many private companies that do that? Firefighters work extreme hours under extreme conditions. There are no snow days, or shut downs for natural disasters. Firefighters love their job, love their community, and take protecting it very seriously. They are very thankful for what the community gives them in return. They have always been willing to do what is necessary to make sure the public is protected. There are many examples over the last 20 yrs. However, I think anyone, private or not, would want the “company” to cut all non-essential costs and streamline before asking their employees for cuts. It is also worth noting that over the last 6 years the city has had budget surpluses of over 19million. Where has that gone? I also have friends in the private sector and from the mid 90’s to mid 2000’s they were getting good raises and large bonuses (some over 20k/yr). Government employees never get bonuses, nor do they even see large raises “in the good times”. Firefighters work hard for their wage, and it is a fair wage. However, they are often used as the poster child for wasteful government. The waste in government is not in the employee that gives you the direct service, that spends almost his entire wage back in the community paying taxes, and buying those items that keep business going. The public wants and expects the appropriate level of response in a timely matter when they are having an emergency. If you want to look for government waste look at the years they have extra money and see what they do with it. If they would have saved all of their budget surpluses into usable accounts over the last 10 yrs, they would be able to cover next year in full and still have millions for another year.
Ed Byrnes on September 22 at 10:11 p.m.
We don’t need to lay off Mary Verner, we can terminate her employment in a year from November.
Having fewer Barney Fife’s running around Spokane might actually make it a safer place. This could be a great time to make SPD cuts based on performance and/or citizen complaints rather than seniority.
Spokane_Citizen on September 22 at 10:16 p.m.
For once, Dick Adams and I agree. Fire, and especially police, bargaining units have been holding the city of Spokane’s citizens hostage for years. Through binding arbitration they’ve succeeded in pricing themselves out of employment.
A great many firefighters use the extreme amount of time off to conduct a side business (which is not necessary considering their very high wages, and it leaves them fatigued and unable to function at peak efficiency). The whole point of the negotiated extensive time off was to allow recuperation from their long and ‘strenuous’ duty period, not to create an opportunity for another career.
As for police…since they seldom ever respond when called, significantly reducing the number of officers is not at all frightening. It’s not like we’ll notice the difference.
On the rare occasions they do respond, they tend to be surly, arrogant, and plainly don’t like to have their slumbers disturbed. It’s not at all unusual to see them BS’ing in a cafe or restaurant with fellow officers (often from several jurisdictions) for very lengthy periods (no doubt important police business is being conducted between discussions about deer and fishing season success or their compadre’s latest divorce).
I say ‘lay’em off’ and let them deal with the disasterous aftermath of binding arbitration. Sure, they all deserve wages comparable to those of Bellevue…so let there just be that much fewer of them. This is a game of who’ll blink first….the bargaining units, or the city council. For once the council ought to hold their ground.
Sadbuttrue on October 06 at 10:36 a.m.
There is world of difference between the police and fireman (I am unaware of any fireman murdering a civilian lately). Generally speaking, firemen do not suffocate mentally-retarded janitors for wielding a pop bottle either.
The closest analogy for the grotesquely-swollen and bloated ranks of the local police forces is to think of it as an artificially-inflated bubble. Much like the recent housing crisis, which was caused by too much money chasing a limited amount of real estate until the bubble popped; similarly, we have far too many police chasing too little actual crime.
Much of what the local police do is not in the public interest, as evidenced by the frequent lack of filing formal charges after police in Spokane arrest drug suspects. There is no public outcry against this, indicating strongly that the police are pursuing types of crime for their own promotional needs.
Much like the unfounded argument that the police are sacrosanct from budget cuts since they supposedly are willing to “lay down their lives” for us in some hypothetical date in the future, the present reality is that civilians are almost always killed to protect the police instead. As long as the police are killing and shooting at civilians wholesale, that cuts in favor of drastic cuts in their ranks.
This just isn’t a “public safety” issue.
Bob_Knows on November 07 at 2:54 p.m.
Did you see the TV news Friday morning? Some one (1) man who “might have been disturbed” was in his home. The blue gangbangers showed up with a small army of “SWAT” pseudo military thugs, and 20 other blue shirt gang members ALL AT OUR EXPENSE. They spent many hours, much on “overtime” before going back to their pig sty. ONE (1) flatfoot going ‘round to have a chat with the guy would have defused the situation and restored peace to OUR neighborhood for less than 10% of the tax money. The reason they send 50 when 1 would do the job is because their BLOATED BUDGET hires 10 times as many bored gun thugs as are needed to do the job. Most of them are sitting around in their pseudo military uniforms keeping their armored vehicles (tanks) warmed up looking for some excuse to assault one of OUR neighborhoods.
Its time to CUT TAXES and fire 90% of the sniveling thugs. Let them do good work by sending 1 or even 2 flatfoots around to have a chat instead of responding with a huge gang of cowboys playing military space cadet.
Bob_Knows on November 07 at 2:58 p.m.
Sadbuttrue is speaking truth. Firemen do not go around killing retarded janitors or shooting Pastors in the night. Firemen actually protect the people and save lives. They should never be confused withe the hired gun thugs who go around beating up and killing the people.
JBlim on November 07 at 3:47 p.m.
My state and local taxes are far from onerous. Obviously, we’d have to pay something anyway for basic services, even in a Republican utopia like Idaho or Arizona. The problem, it seems to me, is that Republicans, by nature, are penny-pinching, greedy misers who want government services for free.