City to make substantial cuts to fill budget hole
At a packed City Commission meeting yesterday, the commissioners voted 5-0 to cut the city budget by $80 million, by starting with pensions and pay cuts for police and firefighters. It was either that or cut one third of the work force. Health insurance costs are killing the city, too.
The commissinoners were heckled by the crowd but the city has to fill a $105 hole in the budget. The cuts take effect October 1. Law suits have been threatened by the unions and this of course is not the end of it.
We spoke with a police officer the other day who felt that within months, courts would overturn the decision and then the city would go in and turn that over again and so on and so on. It looks like a long battle. He said the cuts would amount to a $500 per paycheck reduction in each one of his paychecks.
While we know that police and especially fire department salaries (and pensions) are off the hook, it would upset anyone to have 5 to 12% in salary cuts, which is the plan. But again, the economy has been terrible for years and anyone with a business or a job without union benefits and contracts has seen salaries and profits dry up. Now unfortunatley, it will be the public servants.
The Herald has all the details here.
The commissinoners were heckled by the crowd but the city has to fill a $105 hole in the budget. The cuts take effect October 1. Law suits have been threatened by the unions and this of course is not the end of it.
We spoke with a police officer the other day who felt that within months, courts would overturn the decision and then the city would go in and turn that over again and so on and so on. It looks like a long battle. He said the cuts would amount to a $500 per paycheck reduction in each one of his paychecks.
While we know that police and especially fire department salaries (and pensions) are off the hook, it would upset anyone to have 5 to 12% in salary cuts, which is the plan. But again, the economy has been terrible for years and anyone with a business or a job without union benefits and contracts has seen salaries and profits dry up. Now unfortunatley, it will be the public servants.
The Herald has all the details here.
posted by Tom Falco at 9:00 AM
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