Two of the city’s four unions have avoided layoffs by accepting
furlough days and pay cuts, but the city council still has to
decide whether to cut police officers and firefighters to further
narrow a shrinking $4.7 million deficit.
Two of the city’s four unions will avoid layoffs if their members accept furlough days and pay cuts, but the city council still has to decide whether to cut police officers and firefighters to further narrow a shrinking $4.7 million deficit, according to city officials.
In a closed session Wednesday night, the council voted 4-3 to accept the Gilroy Managers’ Association’s proposal and 5-2 to accept a proposal from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 101 – Gilroy’s largest union with 100 members ranging from city engineers to emergency dispatchers – according to Councilman Perry Woodward. Human Resources Director LeeAnn McPhillips and City Administrator Tom Haglund did not immediately return messages Thursday morning seeking the vote breakdown or exact dollar figures.
The downside is that City Hall will have to close for a few days each month without any AFSCME employees, effectively shutting down the city, Woodward said. He said he voted against each proposal because the proposed savings will only last as long as the furloughs do throughout the next fiscal year. Furloughs do not permanently reduce costs, he said, and City Hall closing for a few days a month is just “salt in the wound.”
If the unions’ members accept their respective proposals, the council will formally approve them Monday or the week after. The body is expected to pass next year’s budget, which begins July 1, at its June 8 meeting. Mayor Al Pinheiro said he hopes to have resolutions with police and fire by then and described in vague terms Thursday morning the council’s next move.
“Some of some unions will not have any layoffs because they came to the table, but it’s going to be to up to (the Gilroy Police Officers’ Association and Fire Local 2805) to determine how this ends up,” Pinherio said. “You now have two unions that have been able to meet the council’s request. I certainly hope the other two will do the same.”
