Non-union employees, including managers, will take three days off without pay and forego 1.3 percent of their deferred compensation to help the City of Renton cope with declining revenues in its budget.
The concessions come as key sources of revenue, including the sales tax, continue to fall behind projections as the region and nation continues to mire in recession.
Hardest hit is the city’s $101 million general fund budget, which in terms of tax revenue is the most sensitive to ups and downs in the economy. The general fund budget pays for the daily operations of the city, including salaries.
The city’s collective bargaining units also continue to have discussions with their membership to determine whether they can also commit to pay and benefit cuts to save about 2 percent in the city’s overall payroll costs during fiscal year 2009 to avoid layoffs, according to the city.
The city continues to face a deficit despite a reduction in the 2009 budget by 7 percent, which required leaving 36 authorized positions unfilled, according to a city news release.
The current forecast estimates a gap of about $6 million between revenues and expenditures. About $4.5 million will be covered by fund balances for capital equipment and projects and citywide budget reductions. An additional $1.5 million is required to balance the 2009 budget.
“We know that the Renton community is experiencing the pain of this recession,” Jay Covington, the city’s chief administrative officer, said in the release.
“The mayor has asked us to do everything we can to continue to provide our citizens with the high quality services they expect during these difficult times. “Unfortunately, we continue to see large declines in revenues and must take actions to ensure that our budget remains in balance. We are proud of the response from our managers and non-represented employees. We have also asked our unions to see if they could help us close the current budget gap of $1.5 million so that we do not need to reduce our work force,” Covington said.
The city employs about 100 non-represented workers. The three furlough days, if applied to all non-represented employees, would save the city about $135,000 for the general fund. Foregoing 1.3 percent of their deferred compensation – which is basically a retirement account – would generate an additional $100,000.
Nancy Carlson, the city’s Human Resources and Risk Management administrator, said when the non-union employees would take the three unpaid days hasn’t been decided.
She said the city is trying to negotiate similar concessions with union members. The non-union members would still take the cut in pay and benefits regardless of what the unions decide, she said.
The city’s bargaining unions include Local 2170 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) representing employees in all city departments, except the police department; the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), Local 864, representing both firefighters and battalion chiefs; and the Renton Police Officers’ Guild, representing both police officers and non-commissioned employees in the police department.
“Our membership is currently pursuing several alternatives, including an option to consider unpaid furlough days to help ease the budget crunch,” said Pat Miller, president of Local 2170, AFSCME, in the city press release.
“The local’s representatives have been meeting with the city to discuss options and strategies to address the budget deficit,” said Doug McDonald, president, IAFF, Local 864.
“We share the same goals with our leadership—to propose a plan that minimizes or avoids layoffs and maximizes our ability to preserve the outstanding gains we have made in reducing crime,” said James Gould, vice president, Renton Police Officers Guild.
The city hopes to reach agreements with all the bargaining units by March 16 to determine whether it can achieve the required savings and avoid layoffs to save about 18 jobs, according to the news release.
