EVERETT — Seventeen city employees lost their jobs as part of $3.5 million in budget cuts that Mayor Ray Stephanson announced Wednesday.
They were the first layoffs in Everett city government in 10 years.
The cuts mean residents can expect reduced library hours, longer grass at parks because of less maintenance, the elimination of some parks classes and programs and reduced enforcement of city codes.
Stephanson said the cuts to the 2004 budget are necessary to avoid more severe layoffs and program cuts in the future.
"This has been a difficult week for all of us — a lot of sleepless nights and seeing people you work with every day and realizing they won’t be here any longer," Stephanson said during Wednesday morning’s City Council meeting.
In addition to the layoffs of 14 full-time and three part-time employees, Stephanson also dismissed seven parks department workers who work nine months each year. He decided not to fill 10 current and future vacancies of full-time employees. The city has nearly 1,100 employees.
The parks department was hardest hit by the budget cuts. Five of the 17 employees were parks employees, and the department’s $8.9 million budget was slashed by $900,000.
City Councilman Mark Olson called the layoffs "unfathomable" in light of the city’s $24 million surplus.
"At a time when we have such a substantial bank balance, this is not an opportune time to terminate employees and disrupt the lives of employees who have served this community," said Olson, who may run for mayor against Stephanson next year. "The slash and burn policies of corporate America shouldn’t be used in city government."
Olson disputed Stephanson’s assertion that the city could be headed for serious financial problems if it does not start cutting employees and programs now. The improving economy should help increase the city’s tax revenues, he said.
But the mayor asserted that, no matter what happens to the economy, the city faces more challenges than in past years.
For example, limits on new property tax increases imposed by Initiative 747 will reduce tax revenues by more than $18 million over the next five years, he said.
Among the budget cuts Stephanson unveiled:
The City Council approved the 2004 budget in December. It had planned to use $4.7 million from the $24 million surplus to cover a gap between revenues and expenses. Stephanson was elected in November in part on a promise not to use any part of the surplus to balance the budget.
The mayor said the surplus should only be used for emergencies or for major construction projects, not for day-to-day operations.
The budget cuts would have been more severe if the city hadn’t begun receiving about $1.2 million more in revenues than expected. Most of that money comes from lower-than-anticipated spending on city projects, and some is coming from better-than-expected sales-tax revenue. With the changes, the general government budget will be $92.6 million.
Stephanson does not need City Council approval for the cuts, but he asked for an April 14 council vote on his proposal anyway.
City Council President Arlan Hatloe said he’ll probably vote for the changes, primarily because it’s the mayor’s prerogative to spend less than the council authorized. But he criticized the layoffs.
"The mayor expanded his administrative staff at higher wages and got rid of folks who have been here for five to 10 years," Hatloe said, referring to Stephanson’s reshuffling of top administrative posts in December.
Councilman Doug Campbell said he, too, would probably vote to support the budget cuts. Some reduction in expenses was necessary, he said.
"But I want to make it clear we will not accept more layoffs in 2005," he said.
Campbell said he disagrees with Stephanson’s opposition to using the surplus to balance the budget. "The council built up that reserve specifically to carry us through economic downturns," he said.
City Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher said she was particularly concerned about cuts in parks spending, in part because it could hurt the city’s ability to attract new residents and new businesses. That, she said, could ultimately lead to less tax money flowing in.
Although some council members are uneasy with some of the mayor’s proposals, they said Stephanson listened to their advice on several key matters. For example, the mayor will fill five vacancies on the police force.
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com
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