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1 in 10 PTC workers volunteer for 25% cutsMon, 01/26/2009 - 2:44pm
By: John Munford
More cuts coming to address $3.5M shortfall next year A little more than 10 percent of Peachtree City’s 324 full and part-time employees indicated in a survey that they would voluntarily accept 25 percent pay cuts, City Manager Bernie McMullen said Monday afternoon. A total of 266 employees responded to the survey, which was conducted at the request of the City Council following a recommendation two weeks ago to eliminate 23 employees from its landscaping crews and replace them with contracted services. 28 employees said they would be willing to take a voluntary 25 percent pay cut, McMullen said. Another 238 employees said in the survey that they would not. Still another 58 employees did not respond to the survey. Further budget cuts are being identified by city staff and will be proposed at an upcoming City Council meeting, McMullen said. City staff previously calculated that a 12.5 percent pay cut for all employees and a one day a month furlough would save $1.94 million. Eliminating cost of living raises for all employees would save an additional $700,000. In contrast, making up for the $3.5 million shortfall without any cuts would require a property tax increase of approximately $200 a home, officials have said. McMullen said some employees have proposed further cost-cutting steps but many of them were already being addressed in the city’s future plans in one form or another. McMullen said the layoffs are “unpleasant” and particularly so for the employees who would be affected. “It’s something I feel like we have to do when we look out for the taxpayer and look at the most cost effective way to deliver services,” McMullen said. McMullen has previously said that the landscaping and mowing crews handle other jobs in the city that will need to be addressed otherwise if the job cuts are approved. Included in those tasks are litter collection, emergency tree removal, road kill removal and interior building painting. They also perform functions for various special events hosted in the city by various groups. McMullen said he has instructed the directors of the public works and leisure services departments to do the best they can to cover those areas. Meanwhile he is proposing a significant cutback to landscaping services by halting the upkeep of landscaping at subdivision entrances. Instead the various homeowners associations could perhaps resume that maintenance, McMullen said. McMullen is proposing the affected employees would get six weeks severance pay and medical insurance with a COBRA option thereafter and access to the city's employee assistance program for three months. Also, the city will require any contractor assuming the services to consider any of the eliminated city employees for any new jobs created by that contract. A total of 58 employees didn’t respond to the pay cut survey, though some of those could have represented some part-timers who weren’t scheduled to work by the time the surveys were due Thursday, McMullen said. Some other employees might have decided they had other reasons not to respond, McMullen said. At council’s direction the surveys were to be anonymous. McMullen said the current year’s budget has been pared down significantly though many of those cuts represent a one-time-only savings. The city is reeling financially like many other local governments due to a drop in sales tax collections. Also the city has not realized more than $600,000 in projected savings in this year’s budget that were planned due to personnel vacancies because attrition has not occurred in large part due to the poor job market, McMullen said. login to post comments
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