By Steffi Broski
CNS Staff Writer
Faced with declining revenue, Folsom city officials decided at the end of January to eliminate 55 positions within the city. Now, a retirement incentive program is expected to further shrink the city’s workforce.
The city approved the mid-year budget in late January. Four weeks later, the City Council adopted the incentive program, which offers an additional two years towards retirement to all eligible city employees in an effort to reduce the workforce.
“Let’s say somebody is 50 years old and has put in 18 years of service,” said John Spittler, director of Human Resources. “You can retire as if you had 20 years of service.”
Employees who are at least 50 years old and have invested in the California Public Employees’ Retirement System can take advantage of this option. The city of Folsom is one of many agencies contracting with CalPers that have been allowed to offer the incentive because of budget cuts and layoffs.
“We don’t know the exact number of how many employees have accepted so far, but 15 or more have indicated interest,” said Spittler.
Employees interested in the 2-year incentive have to give notice by the end of May.
On March 10, the city sent out its lay-off notices to 39 employees. Out of the 55 eliminated positions, 16 were vacant.
For employees who worked their way up the ladder – from entry to intermediate to senior level – there is an opportunity to “bump,” which means accepting a demotion rather than a layoff.
“It’s a seniority-based system,” said Spittler. “People might keep working in the department, but at a lower level.”
One of the divisions affected by the layoffs is the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary. The zoo lost three part-time zoo keepers and a part-time cashier position in addition to three positions at its education department.
“It’s impossible to pin down what will happen today or tomorrow. There have never been layoffs like that,” said zoo spokeswoman Roberta Ratcliff. “But when there’s no money, there’s no money.”
All departing city employees will leave their positions in mid-April.
Zoo Manager Jocelyn Smeltzer said that despite losing positions in the education department, there will still be opportunities for education at the zoo “just not as many as we have been lucky to have in the past.”
Smeltzer said the docent program, which provides tours for school children, will attempt to fill the void left by the departing educators. Some community members have offered to write grant applications to secure more funding for the zoo, Smeltzer said.
City Council member Ernie Sheldon said each department in the city had to come up with an amount that could be cut. The bottom line is that the budget needs to be balanced- layoffs are part of that attempt, he said.
“We hate to do what we have to do, but times are bad right now,” Sheldon said. “We don’t have any bad people. We have exceptional employees that have been doing a good job.”
Though many city positions have been eliminated, a better economic future might re-create those positions.
“It’s hard to predict the future, but things always ebb and flow,” said Spittler. “If we have very, very different economic times in the future, who knows how the city will deal with that.”
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Yolo County facing layoffs, spending cuts
By Luke Gianni
CNS Staff Writer
Yolo County officials are scrambling to prepare this year’s budget which will include massive spending cuts, layoffs and significant reductions in services.
Officials said falling property taxes and dwindling state funding have left them with no choice but to direct all department heads to separate the indispensible components of their programs from those that the county could survive without – presumably to slash them.
“We’re at the point where we can’t tighten our belts anymore,” county spokeswoman Beth Gabor said. “Now it’s lopping off whole programs to meet out targets. There will also be a discussion about how many employees we are going to lay off.”
The county is facing a $22.5 million cash shortfall, nearly a third of its total budget.
The layoffs and program cuts are but one part of a multi-pronged solution envisioned by county administrators in their endeavor to tame the monumental deficit.
Officials will be meeting with union representatives to renegotiate pay, benefits and retirement contributions of all employees, from which the county hopes to save around $5 million.
Gabor said the county will also spend nearly half of its general fund reserves – $4.2 million – to narrow the gap.
In addition, officials forecast around $2 million in federal stimulus money coming to the county that will also help shore up the budget.
However, even with a new labor agreement, reserve spending and federal help, the county will still be about $11 million in the hole and that, officials said, will have to come out of somewhere.
“I expect we will see [cuts] all over the map,” said Pat Leary, assistant administrator for the county. “There may be some services lopped off all together. It’s obviously going to be an extremely, dramatic change.”
Leary said the details have yet to be hammered out, adding that there are no solid numbers on how many layoffs will be coming.
She said her department will meet again with the Board of Supervisors on April 21, ahead of the normal June budget deadline, to brief them on their progress in cutting the budget.
By that time, the county’s departments will have submitted their essential-vs.-discretionary budget wish lists. The board will then decide, item by item, which programs to keep funding, which to reduce and which to cut out all together.
“We asked for them to identify what their core services were,” Leary said. “It’s drawing a line between that what you need to provide and what would you like to provide.”
Taking a pay cut may be hard to swallow for county staffers, many of who were already on voluntary furloughs to help mend last year’s budget shortfall.
“As generous as our employees have been it has been tough,” Gabor said. “The reduction of their salaries across the board will be a hardship for many. We imagine some of our employees will be eligible for our services when this is all said and done.”
Leary insisted, however, that the county will eventually recover and avoided calling this recession a permanent paradigm shift into limited service. On the contrary, Leary said, the county will be forced to innovate and become more efficient, making it even more productive when the economy eventually turns around.
“Every recession is unique,” Leary said. “They are like children. They all have idiosyncrasies to each one. But part of what a recession does is it makes you look at your service and ask: Is this the best way we can provide these services? That is why these crises can be incubators for innovation. To the extent you can, you innovate and get new ideas and that’s your paradigm shift.”
CNS Staff Writer
Yolo County officials are scrambling to prepare this year’s budget which will include massive spending cuts, layoffs and significant reductions in services.
Officials said falling property taxes and dwindling state funding have left them with no choice but to direct all department heads to separate the indispensible components of their programs from those that the county could survive without – presumably to slash them.
“We’re at the point where we can’t tighten our belts anymore,” county spokeswoman Beth Gabor said. “Now it’s lopping off whole programs to meet out targets. There will also be a discussion about how many employees we are going to lay off.”
The county is facing a $22.5 million cash shortfall, nearly a third of its total budget.
The layoffs and program cuts are but one part of a multi-pronged solution envisioned by county administrators in their endeavor to tame the monumental deficit.
Officials will be meeting with union representatives to renegotiate pay, benefits and retirement contributions of all employees, from which the county hopes to save around $5 million.
Gabor said the county will also spend nearly half of its general fund reserves – $4.2 million – to narrow the gap.
In addition, officials forecast around $2 million in federal stimulus money coming to the county that will also help shore up the budget.
However, even with a new labor agreement, reserve spending and federal help, the county will still be about $11 million in the hole and that, officials said, will have to come out of somewhere.
“I expect we will see [cuts] all over the map,” said Pat Leary, assistant administrator for the county. “There may be some services lopped off all together. It’s obviously going to be an extremely, dramatic change.”
Leary said the details have yet to be hammered out, adding that there are no solid numbers on how many layoffs will be coming.
She said her department will meet again with the Board of Supervisors on April 21, ahead of the normal June budget deadline, to brief them on their progress in cutting the budget.
By that time, the county’s departments will have submitted their essential-vs.-discretionary budget wish lists. The board will then decide, item by item, which programs to keep funding, which to reduce and which to cut out all together.
“We asked for them to identify what their core services were,” Leary said. “It’s drawing a line between that what you need to provide and what would you like to provide.”
Taking a pay cut may be hard to swallow for county staffers, many of who were already on voluntary furloughs to help mend last year’s budget shortfall.
“As generous as our employees have been it has been tough,” Gabor said. “The reduction of their salaries across the board will be a hardship for many. We imagine some of our employees will be eligible for our services when this is all said and done.”
Leary insisted, however, that the county will eventually recover and avoided calling this recession a permanent paradigm shift into limited service. On the contrary, Leary said, the county will be forced to innovate and become more efficient, making it even more productive when the economy eventually turns around.
“Every recession is unique,” Leary said. “They are like children. They all have idiosyncrasies to each one. But part of what a recession does is it makes you look at your service and ask: Is this the best way we can provide these services? That is why these crises can be incubators for innovation. To the extent you can, you innovate and get new ideas and that’s your paradigm shift.”
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Blood donations drop in region
By Luke Gianni
CNS staff writer
With all the bad economic news, it may be a comfort to know you can access a basic medical examination that requires no insurance or money – only your blood.
That is one selling point of donating blood, according to the American Red Cross. Their organization conducts stringent – and free – blood screens, in hopes of drawing out more people to donate.
Many regional blood bank operators are apprehensive about how the recession might affect the region’s blood supply.
Their concern stems from what they see happening in regions like Yolo County, which has seen a slight drop in blood donations since the economic downturn. Although supplies there are holding steady, officials said they are have to work harder to find blood donors.
Fortunately, the drop in donations has largely been offset by a corresponding decrease in demand, according to Leslie Botos, spokeswoman for Blood Source, the county’s official blood donor agency.
“I don’t think there isn’t a blood bank in the country that hasn’t been affected by the economy,” Botos said.
The majority of the agency’s blood drives are conducted at businesses, and Blood Source relies heavily on donations from those employees, she said. When businesses close, the agency has to find a new place to hold drives. That results in the loss of some regular donors.
“Any time a business closes, you lose a familiar place to donate blood,” Botos said. “It’s been getting harder and harder each day and we have to get creative.”
Donors are often anxious about taking time off of work to give blood, Botos said. Furthermore, this type of philanthropy has taken a back seat to other priorities for many in Yolo County.
But as the bad economy has caused a decrease in blood donations, it has also served to lessen the demand.
Botos said Yolo County hospitals have reported a recent and significant drop in elective surgeries and that could account for the decreased demand.
Botos said she expects Bloodsource to collect far less this year than average, which is about 85,000 donations.
Sara O’Brien, spokeswoman for the Northern California Division of the American Red Cross, said regional supplies are at normal levels – that is to say they are very tenuous.
“It’s not like we have an excess supply,” O’Brien said. “We have just enough for a day-to-day basis. We would rather be operating on a week-to-week basis.”
O’Brien said her agency, which covers operations in the Bay Area and San Jose, has been monitoring the supply level in the wake of the country’s recent economic troubles.
“We haven’t seen a run up on blood, and elective surgeries have decreased,” O’Brien said.
The main obstacle to blood donations is the same as it has always been, she said – extremely tight standards.
“Only 38 percent are eligible to give blood,” O’Brien said. “And out of that 35 percent, only three to five percent actually give blood.”
Low iron levels and any blood-related ailments will disqualify a donor from giving blood, according to the policy of the Food and Drug Administration, the agency in charge of regulating blood donation in the United States.
The FDA also bars homosexuals, drug users and anyone who has traveled for three months or more in the United Kingdom from 1980 through 1996 from giving blood.
On the bright side, O’Brien said the FDA’s air-tight standards might be a selling point to those who have recently lost their health benefits.
“If you don’t have medical insurance, well, we really are doing a mini-medical health examine,” O’Brien said. “If they notice something wrong with [your blood], we will notify you right away.”
O’Brien said they screen blood for the most common sexually transmitted diseases as well as a few other ailments at no cost.
And if the economy has dampened your altruistic means, blood donation is free and always needed, she said.
“If you’re used to giving to charity ad now you can’t, at least you’re able to in a low cost way to make a difference in someone else’s life.”
CNS staff writer
With all the bad economic news, it may be a comfort to know you can access a basic medical examination that requires no insurance or money – only your blood.
That is one selling point of donating blood, according to the American Red Cross. Their organization conducts stringent – and free – blood screens, in hopes of drawing out more people to donate.
Many regional blood bank operators are apprehensive about how the recession might affect the region’s blood supply.
Their concern stems from what they see happening in regions like Yolo County, which has seen a slight drop in blood donations since the economic downturn. Although supplies there are holding steady, officials said they are have to work harder to find blood donors.
Fortunately, the drop in donations has largely been offset by a corresponding decrease in demand, according to Leslie Botos, spokeswoman for Blood Source, the county’s official blood donor agency.
“I don’t think there isn’t a blood bank in the country that hasn’t been affected by the economy,” Botos said.
The majority of the agency’s blood drives are conducted at businesses, and Blood Source relies heavily on donations from those employees, she said. When businesses close, the agency has to find a new place to hold drives. That results in the loss of some regular donors.
“Any time a business closes, you lose a familiar place to donate blood,” Botos said. “It’s been getting harder and harder each day and we have to get creative.”
Donors are often anxious about taking time off of work to give blood, Botos said. Furthermore, this type of philanthropy has taken a back seat to other priorities for many in Yolo County.
But as the bad economy has caused a decrease in blood donations, it has also served to lessen the demand.
Botos said Yolo County hospitals have reported a recent and significant drop in elective surgeries and that could account for the decreased demand.
Botos said she expects Bloodsource to collect far less this year than average, which is about 85,000 donations.
Sara O’Brien, spokeswoman for the Northern California Division of the American Red Cross, said regional supplies are at normal levels – that is to say they are very tenuous.
“It’s not like we have an excess supply,” O’Brien said. “We have just enough for a day-to-day basis. We would rather be operating on a week-to-week basis.”
O’Brien said her agency, which covers operations in the Bay Area and San Jose, has been monitoring the supply level in the wake of the country’s recent economic troubles.
“We haven’t seen a run up on blood, and elective surgeries have decreased,” O’Brien said.
The main obstacle to blood donations is the same as it has always been, she said – extremely tight standards.
“Only 38 percent are eligible to give blood,” O’Brien said. “And out of that 35 percent, only three to five percent actually give blood.”
Low iron levels and any blood-related ailments will disqualify a donor from giving blood, according to the policy of the Food and Drug Administration, the agency in charge of regulating blood donation in the United States.
The FDA also bars homosexuals, drug users and anyone who has traveled for three months or more in the United Kingdom from 1980 through 1996 from giving blood.
On the bright side, O’Brien said the FDA’s air-tight standards might be a selling point to those who have recently lost their health benefits.
“If you don’t have medical insurance, well, we really are doing a mini-medical health examine,” O’Brien said. “If they notice something wrong with [your blood], we will notify you right away.”
O’Brien said they screen blood for the most common sexually transmitted diseases as well as a few other ailments at no cost.
And if the economy has dampened your altruistic means, blood donation is free and always needed, she said.
“If you’re used to giving to charity ad now you can’t, at least you’re able to in a low cost way to make a difference in someone else’s life.”
Folsom looks to conserve water
By Steffi Broski
CNS Staff Writer
As the water levels in Folsom Lake fall to half of normal for this time of year, the city is ramping up its conservation efforts.
A Stage 3 water warning, designed to reduce water waste, will be effective March 3. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Feb. 24 to invoke the Stage 3 water warning and to clarify water use guidelines during shortages.
After the city issued a Stage 2 water alert last year, residents met the goal of a 20 percent reduction in water use. Stage 3 further restricts water usage.
Landscape watering is limited to two designated days per week. Residents with even street numbers can water on Wednesday and Sunday, and those with street numbers that end in an odd number may water Tuesdays and Saturdays. All landscape watering must be done between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. The Stage 3 water warning prohibits the use of hoses without control valves.
“The new ordinance gives us the power to exercise penalties for the customers that don’t comply with the stage 3 water restrictions,” said Ken Payne, director of the utilities department. “But that’s not our approach. We want to work with our customers and help them comply.”
First time violators will receive a personal or written notification, but if there is a second violation within three months, a written notification and a Notice to Correct will be issued to the customer. Stage 3 mandates the discontinuance of water service if a second violation within one month is issued.
A third violation within six months may result in penalties up to $100 or the mandatory installation of a water meter, being billed twice the metered rate and possible discontinued water service.
“Up to today, we have not issued any penalties. That’s one of the nice things about this community, you have people that work with you,” said Payne.
Council member Ernie Sheldon said he would like not only to see penalties for people that waste water, but also rewards for those who conserve water. He said a combination of both would be ideal.
“You can’t just pound the guy in the head. You also need a reward of some sort. That’s just part of human nature,” said Sheldon.
Payne said within the next 60 to 90 days, the department will look at the possibility of lower rates for water conservers, but “nothing has been decided yet.” The cost of operating the water system stays the same whether a customer uses less or more water, Payne said.
The restricted water use will not affect new development, said Walter Sadler, assistant director of the Folsom Utilities Department. Contractors are already required to submit a plan for water use to the utility department prior to any construction.
As part of its water conservation efforts, the city is creating an irrigation plan for public parks and other public grounds.
“The city has invested $250 million in its parks over the last 20 years. We need to find out how to comply with the conservation effort, but at the same time protect the investment we have made,” said Sheldon.
The Parks and Recreation Committee is currently drafting an irrigation plan. The plan will include priorities for managing water usage in parks, said Robert Goss, director of the parks and recreation department.
The priorities will focus on protecting trees and sports fields. Cutting back on watering ornamental turf and shrubs will free up water for the sports fields that “we have heavily invested in,” Goss said.
“We will keep tweaking the plan until it saves at least 20 percent. Our goal is to protect the value of the infrastrcuture, since that’s where the public tax dollars went,“ said Goss.
He said if the Stage 3 water warning continues throughout the summer, Folsom’s parks will not be as green as they used to be, but the department is trying hard to avoid irreparable damage.
The new ordinance clarifies the five stages of water conservation from a Stage 1 to a Stage 5 water emergency. Each stage increases water use reduction by further restricting irrigation, ponds, fountains, car washing, pool refills and installation of new lawns and landscaping.
The decision on whether Folsom will implement a Stage 4 warning won’t be made before May, but if it stopped raining completely, it is a strong possibility, Payne said.
“We can’t predict what the weather is going to be like, The California weather can be weird. If we continue to stay dry, drinking water is the most important thing. Everything else will matter a lot less,” said Sheldon.
CNS Staff Writer
As the water levels in Folsom Lake fall to half of normal for this time of year, the city is ramping up its conservation efforts.
A Stage 3 water warning, designed to reduce water waste, will be effective March 3. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Feb. 24 to invoke the Stage 3 water warning and to clarify water use guidelines during shortages.
After the city issued a Stage 2 water alert last year, residents met the goal of a 20 percent reduction in water use. Stage 3 further restricts water usage.
Landscape watering is limited to two designated days per week. Residents with even street numbers can water on Wednesday and Sunday, and those with street numbers that end in an odd number may water Tuesdays and Saturdays. All landscape watering must be done between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. The Stage 3 water warning prohibits the use of hoses without control valves.
“The new ordinance gives us the power to exercise penalties for the customers that don’t comply with the stage 3 water restrictions,” said Ken Payne, director of the utilities department. “But that’s not our approach. We want to work with our customers and help them comply.”
First time violators will receive a personal or written notification, but if there is a second violation within three months, a written notification and a Notice to Correct will be issued to the customer. Stage 3 mandates the discontinuance of water service if a second violation within one month is issued.
A third violation within six months may result in penalties up to $100 or the mandatory installation of a water meter, being billed twice the metered rate and possible discontinued water service.
“Up to today, we have not issued any penalties. That’s one of the nice things about this community, you have people that work with you,” said Payne.
Council member Ernie Sheldon said he would like not only to see penalties for people that waste water, but also rewards for those who conserve water. He said a combination of both would be ideal.
“You can’t just pound the guy in the head. You also need a reward of some sort. That’s just part of human nature,” said Sheldon.
Payne said within the next 60 to 90 days, the department will look at the possibility of lower rates for water conservers, but “nothing has been decided yet.” The cost of operating the water system stays the same whether a customer uses less or more water, Payne said.
The restricted water use will not affect new development, said Walter Sadler, assistant director of the Folsom Utilities Department. Contractors are already required to submit a plan for water use to the utility department prior to any construction.
As part of its water conservation efforts, the city is creating an irrigation plan for public parks and other public grounds.
“The city has invested $250 million in its parks over the last 20 years. We need to find out how to comply with the conservation effort, but at the same time protect the investment we have made,” said Sheldon.
The Parks and Recreation Committee is currently drafting an irrigation plan. The plan will include priorities for managing water usage in parks, said Robert Goss, director of the parks and recreation department.
The priorities will focus on protecting trees and sports fields. Cutting back on watering ornamental turf and shrubs will free up water for the sports fields that “we have heavily invested in,” Goss said.
“We will keep tweaking the plan until it saves at least 20 percent. Our goal is to protect the value of the infrastrcuture, since that’s where the public tax dollars went,“ said Goss.
He said if the Stage 3 water warning continues throughout the summer, Folsom’s parks will not be as green as they used to be, but the department is trying hard to avoid irreparable damage.
The new ordinance clarifies the five stages of water conservation from a Stage 1 to a Stage 5 water emergency. Each stage increases water use reduction by further restricting irrigation, ponds, fountains, car washing, pool refills and installation of new lawns and landscaping.
The decision on whether Folsom will implement a Stage 4 warning won’t be made before May, but if it stopped raining completely, it is a strong possibility, Payne said.
“We can’t predict what the weather is going to be like, The California weather can be weird. If we continue to stay dry, drinking water is the most important thing. Everything else will matter a lot less,” said Sheldon.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Citrus Heights budget in good shape, officials say
Dan King
CNS Staff Writer
The city has a reserve of $35 million, which exceeds their annual operating budget of $30 million, officials announced Thursday.
City Manager Henry Tingle said the city is less affected by the downturn because of its mid-range retail base and conservative spending. The city’s revenue is down this year by $750,000 but because of the reserve funds, the decrease will not result in loss of employees or benefits.
“Our primary revenue generation is retail,” Tingle said. “We were affected on the retail side, but most of our retail isn’t the high-end retail.”
Unlike many communities, Citrus Heights is not reeling from a decline in new construction. The city, which incorporated in 1997, has never had large swaths of land available for development.
“Our model never depended on growth,” Tingle said. “We knew we weren’t going to have growth. Where we had to focus our attention was cleaning up our neighborhoods, fixing up our streets, making our community safe and more attractive for people to buy their first home here.”
Gary Gordon, vice president of the Northwest Neighborhood Association, offered another reason for the city’s success.
“If it wasn’t for Henry Tingle, we’d be broke like all the other local cities,” Gordon said. “Citrus Heights doesn’t have a big staff, but they aren’t facing layoffs or furloughing workers.”
Tingle said the city doesn’t negotiate salary increases for the workforce until they have an idea how much money they will have in the coming year. If the revenue is up, salaries can be increased; if revenue doesn’t increase, salaries stay flat.
“There’s always the concept if we aren’t competitive we are going to lose people,” Tingle said. “Even the good paying cities lose good people. Nobody has done a detailed analysis of how much you are really impacted because your salary or benefits are lower than your neighbors. So everyone is under the delusion they have to keep up with the Joneses.”
Tingle said the city has tried to always stay within its means. It doesn’t increase the size of the staff in good times, so it doesn’t have to reduce it in hard times, he said.
The civic center is paid off, and construction on the community center across the street didn’t start until the city could come up with $10.5 million to pay for it.
“Everything you see around here, the citizens of Citrus Heights own outright,” Tingle said.
The city has a 10-year budget plan, which is adjusted every six months. The plan evaluates how spending will affect the city long term.
“We do struggle at times with resurfacing and repaving our roads,” said City Council Member Steve Miller. “We have to really plan ahead and prioritize what needs to get done and then make sure it gets done.”
The city sent about $3 million this year in property taxes to Sacramento County as part of its revenue neutrality agreement, which was a condition of incorporation designed to offset the loss of revenue to the county. The agreement is set up on a sliding scale, and allots property tax revenue to the county until 2021-2022.
According to a 2007 survey conducted by BW Research Partnership and paid for by the city, 89 percent of residents surveyed said they were satisfied with the job the city is doing and 50.5 percent said they were very satisfied.
Mayor James Shelby has served on the City Council since incorporation. He said the credit for the city’s success belongs to Tingle and his staff.
“The key is Tingle and his staff have worked for other cities with large budget problems,” he said. “They decided if they were ever in position to control things, they wouldn’t face the same problems. They would spend the budget wisely, and be aware it is the taxpayers’ money.”
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