Red flags are waving with regard to the city’s furlough policy
and public safety employees. Obviously, police and fire operations
can’t shut down every other Friday like the rest of City Hall does.
So, amassing the substantial savings projected from furloughs
– some $3 million this year – depends on close management of
employee time.
Hopefully, the city will meet its projected furlough savings.
But, just as importantly, the accounting for those savings should
be straightforward and reported to the public without
manipulation.
Red flags are waving with regard to the city’s furlough policy and public safety employees. Obviously, police and fire operations can’t shut down every other Friday like the rest of City Hall does. So, amassing the substantial savings projected from furloughs – some $3 million this year – depends on close management of employee time.
Hopefully, the city will meet its projected furlough savings. But, just as importantly, the accounting for those savings should be straightforward and reported to the public without manipulation.
The red flags revolve around concerns that some employees in the public safety sector are banking furlough days and taking those in blocks, rather like a vacation. In that case, of course, vacation days go unused and therefore pile up. It could become a nightmare management situation balancing vacation requests with furlough requests. That’s a red flag that the City Council should be well aware of and briefed on in regular updates. The city’s financial health depends on it.
In addition, Gilroy is so utterly dependent on sales taxes that the projections made by the city are crucial. City Administrator Tom Haglund made the right call in the first quarter. Gilroy’s numbers were off 16.4 percent. Usually, however, city manager’s estimate conservatively and, since Haglund’s numbers were spot on, any fluctuation downward will really put the squeeze on City Hall. Christmas season sales, by all financial pundits, are predicted to be lousy.
The point is that this is a protracted period in which the city must be ultra-conservative and ultra-concerned about managing employee-related expenses.
It’s also a good time to begin talking to the unions about a two-tier benefit system. To reduce costs on a long-term basis, new hires would not receive the same benefits as those currently under contract. Not to begin that conversation now would demonstrate a lack of leadership and a lack of foresight on the City Council.
Running a tight ship is imperative at this point. Nobody wants more job and service cuts. Every nickel counts.
