August 30, 2011 in City

Spokane County cuts engineering jobs

Officials cite lack of work

John Craig The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane County Engineering and Roads Department Tuesday laid off 13 engineering technicians for lack of work.

Perhaps three more professional staff layoffs were pending, subject to discussions with union officials, county Engineer Bob Brueggeman said.

Brueggeman said the layoffs are driven by an across-the-board reduction in capital projects, but especially the completion this year of a project to replace septic tanks with sewer connections in the Spokane Valley.

Tuesday’s layoff of construction inspectors and project designers is effective Oct. 17. The cuts represent about 6 percent of the department’s work force, and affect employees who have been with the county as long as 22 years.

Brueggeman said he expects the down-sizing to be permanent although he is optimistic that a sidelined $66 million project to widen Bigelow Gulch Road will get back on track in 2013.

That project is on hold while state and federal officials iron out problems in the county’s right-of-way acquisition procedures.

Even if that work resumes, “there’s no new money coming in for future transportation facilities,” Brueggeman said. “All things considered, we’ve got more people than we’ve got work for.”

He said next year’s construction schedule so far is limited to a few sidewalk and trail projects and replacement of a deteriorated bridge over the Little Spokane River, near the Wandermere Golf Course.

The work is expected to cost about $12 million, compared with about $40 million in recent years.

A $3 million tax-increment-financing project to build roads and utilities for a West Plains development might help, but progress is slow because of difficulty in raising money for a centerpiece aerospace museum, Brueggeman said.

(Look for complete coverage on this and other issues in Wednesday’s edition of The Spokesman-Review.)

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10 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

empyrius on August 30 at 2:40 p.m.
Government being involved in road maintenance and construction is another impractical, and socialized loss, to the citizenry of this nation.
Back in Jefferson and Washingtons’ day it was fine to have government biuld and maintain roads since only the landowners with money were the government and are the ones who directly benefited from this practice.
But now that these roads are built and maintained by an increasingly land and money-less large segment of America’s dwindling working-class; the only appropriate measure is to privatize, get that “free”-enterprisers, stimulating our civilian economy while government “shrinks” by a droplet anyway . . .
And we should just privatize the American armed forces now too! Instead of the government draining everybody with its’ needless middle-manning; all current wars should be immediately sold to whatever particular companies it is that is making (and stands to make!) the most money in these wars . . .
tobiasg on August 30 at 2:43 p.m.
Darn tootin! The poor can do just fine with dirt roads and outhouses. We gotta cut more spending to keep those unemployment figures high so that failure Obama looks like a failure!
misjustice on August 30 at 2:59 p.m.
Well payin’ engineering jobs are highly over rated. BTW, I heard that McDonald’s is hiring!
ddenenny on August 30 at 4:34 p.m.
Pines is a state highway and I-90 is state and federal. No local control
empyrius on August 30 at 4:34 p.m.
eh man
Valley-girl (but yes I defecate like you) personal waste is entirely a “private” affair: where be the Randian “privatizationers” now! Har har har har
And as far as widening the Bigelow D uhh itch road keeping the poor at bay …; it does keep a few out of the bars for a few hours less and quite willing to fight for their little piece of the action: d rich man like dat extra layer of protection!
Same ole same ole. The great Pacific NW strike-breakers who murdered whomever for the barons, capos, become the local sheriffs, and on and on; and now a century later while all domestic territories have been firmly outfitted with overwhelming manpower and weaponry to be used as necessary, the robber barons have been concentrating on those oil riches . . .,
and here us taxpayers are not only paying them, and fighting for them, to get murderously rich, we even cheer on for more war for crying out loud!!!!!!!!!
Har har har har
And the ole “at least more gov. jobs keeps the economy rolling” bit is way, wayyyyyyyyyyy, overdue for an Orwellian disposal of old world mind-making language:
the only jobs created of such current American geist is in war-making!
Sure enough our nationalism is exceptional as the mortgaged masses adorn the countryside with useless idols of possession while the warmakers beam this weeks idol into every home:
but we have several wars going on right now that really give life meaning . . .
Satan laughing spreads his wings!
westerly on August 30 at 5:36 p.m.
Come on over to Seattle area…$billions of road work, mostly self taxed projects by citizens who live there.
westerly on August 30 at 5:37 p.m.
Come on over to Seattle area…$billions of road work, mostly self taxed by citizens who live there.
oneanddone on August 30 at 7:23 p.m.
Can ya hear me now.
monkeyman on August 30 at 10:00 p.m.
Just wondering what is an “engineering technician” in the above story?
dukkandpooh on August 30 at 10:29 p.m.
monkeyman,
I’m not an expert on this, but I had a friend who worked in this department for many years. An engineering tech can either be office (design) or field. The employees in the department have known for two years now that layoffs would be occurring in their respective departments. In fact, layoffs were supposed to happen even sooner than they have. Field techs are responsible for inspecting sewer installations and road projects. Office techs are responsible for design. When the valley incorporated, my understanding is that the sewer projects that would have been performed by contractors under supervision of the county were lost to the valley city. I believe that all (or most) sewer installations within the county are now complete, and developers are responsible for sewer installations/tying into main sewer lines in new developments. There certainly isn’t enough work to support the number of people in the department, so those who are paid the highest due to seniority will retain their jobs, while everyone else will not. My friend left the county a couple of years ago after receiving word that these layoffs were going to occur, but most of the people in the department decided to ride it out and hope things were going to turn around. I certainly with them the best of luck in finding something comparable in this area. Many families will be affected.