The inevitable is nearing. Mesa is offering city employees a severance package in light of the tough economic situation that’s expected to trigger job cuts soon, City Manager Chris Brady said Friday.
Employees opting for the package will get two weeks’ pay. Additionally, they’ll get a one-week pay for every year they’ve been employed with the city. This will be capped at a maximum of 12 weeks.
All full-time employees as well as non-sworn and part-time employees who get benefits can avail the option. Police and fire personnel are not included in this deal, Brady confirmed, although he said those departments are going to be affected by the cuts. Mesa employs more than 4,000 full and part-time employees.
Those who choose to leave on their own by December end will get the same offer as those who stand to get laid off. The reason for giving the employees this option earlier is so that those who might have other job offers can start thinking about accepting this package, Brady said.
Brady said Mesa doesn’t have a set target for the number of employees they hope will use this option. He said in talking to the employees over the past several weeks, it was clear they understood that job cuts are bound to happen, even as Mesa, like other municipalities, deals with the worsening economic situation.
“People naturally didn’t want to leave sooner than if they could get a severance package, so essentially we’re saying if you leave between now and the end of the year, you’ll get the same offer,” Brady said. “It gives our employees more time to make their own decisions and plan their future in these tough times.”
Brady added that he’s not sure if anyone would take advantage of this offer, unless they have another job lined up.
“They (employees) just wanted the option so that if they do have a job, they can take this offer and not miss another opportunity,” Brady said.
Formal notifications to employees who may be on the list of layoffs are going to be sent as early as next week. Brady said there is going to be a “significant” reduction in the number of positions.
Friday afternoon, several staffers blamed tumbling sales tax revenue collections for the city’s critical situation, saying a property tax is a practical solution to keep the city’s essentials like police, fire and community services such as parks and libraries running. Money for these operations comes from the city’s general fund, which is budgeted at $341 million for this fiscal year.
The severance package may not have too many takers, employees the Tribune spoke with said, although they agreed it would help those who may have a job offer already. But for those who’ve worked for the city more than 12 years, it doesn’t make much sense to take the deal, they said.
Overall, they said the mood within city hall is dark. One employee teared up at the prospect of people losing their jobs. There is also a general feeling that upper-level management should have to take a hit too, along with the other departments.
The job cut numbers floating within the city’s grapevine range anywhere from 400 to 600. However, city officials have not confirmed a figure.
Brady has asked each department to come up with ways to cut costs and come up with lower budget figures.
Staffers say some departments have had to go back to the drawing board when the cuts shown weren’t enough. Those that can are being asked to look at increasing customer fees and fines.
Some departments can expect a 50 to 60 percent reduction. The police department has to make 10 percent budget cuts. The fire department has already announced a $1 million cut. Public safety comprises 70 percent of the city’s budget.
September’s sales tax revenue figures are not available yet. Mesa’s budgeted sales and use tax revenue for 2008-09 is $147.2 million. But total receipts for the fiscal year to date, between June and August, are nearly $33.5 million, down $4.5 million from the city’s estimate for this period. The receipts for the same period last year were $38.7 million.
It’s been estimated that sales tax revenue by this fiscal end could be down by as much as $40 million, but Brady said it’s been hard to make projections, due to the unprecedented declines.
“We experienced a steep decline the past few months, but we don’t know when it’s flattening out,” Brady said. “It’s hard to say if it’s a trend and how long it’s going to last.”
City staff is going to present Mesa’s revenue numbers, the overall budget situation and plans to deal with the same, to the Mesa City Council Nov. 20.
Brady said it’s been hard to go through this entire process, not just for those who would have to be let go, but those staying behind, because the city is planning to change the way many departments function to deal long-term with “the new economy.”
“We’re going to be changing things the way we do, so that makes for a hard adjustment for some who are used to working one way,” Brady said. “These are hard times and we have to think, what do we do? Do we continue the same services or do we adapt the best way we can?”
What do you mean by severance? Severance of a leg, thumb, finger or arm? Please be specific. Should I assume you mean job severance?
My hope is that he starts in his office. Someone mentioned that before he came in they only had 7 or 8 in his office. Now they have 25. That is quite a bunch for just a few years.
Brady’s office should be first and foremost when it comes to terminating employment. His office is overstaffed and with a downturn in the economy, there is absolutely no justification for him to keep a large staff. In fact, there is no justification to keep Mr. Brady as an overpaid city employee.
Start with cutty back on executive staff, executive perks, and executive compensation. Instead of laying off library worker close the doors on Sunday and cut back on the hours it is open. Library patrons will adjust and work around the new hours far more easily, and painlessly than libary workers will be able to adjust to being out of work. Some library workers that will be effected are sole providers, single parents, etc.
If you want to help the economy find ways to keep people employed. Why should city executives be exempt from making sacrifices? Executives can adjust to reductions in pay and perks. Sole providers and single parents will find it much more difficult to ajust to losing their income. They can longer contribute the economy but become a drain on the economy.
Common city executives, step up to the plate. Make sacrifices, cut services, but save jobs.
Nicer severence package than many have received this past year.
Still, it would’ve been nice if citizens or at least employees could’ve helped find ways to save their jobs. Here’s a thought had a great idea about closing the library branches on Sunday, and I’m sure there are other options.
As far as hhhalley’s remark, yes, dear. When “severance” and “package” are together in a headline or sentence, particularly in the presence of “staff”, I think it’s safe to assume the topic is job severence.
START WITH MESA’S $200,000.00 A YEAR “MONEY PITS” = CITY ADMINISTRATOR CHRIS BRADY & MESA POLICE CHIEF GEORGE GASCON. ONE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING AND THE OTHER DOESN’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING.
They are talking about laying off 40 full time library employees–out of a total staff for all three branches of 117. This will mean the closure of Dobson and Red Mountain branches. It takes a lot of people to make the library function, but Mesa has shown over and over that they don’t care about libraries by refusing to support a property tax. Well, here’s the payback, folks. You lose your libraries and look like complete ignoramuses to the outside world, not to mention the detriment of the community at large. Plus, you keep voting for bonds as if those don’t have to be repaid with interest. Idiots.
You beat me to it: Chris Brady–first one out the door.
Take along fellow co-conspirators Brian Raines and Scott Rigby with you.
That’s what Mesa gets for not accepting the Cardinal Stadium plan when they had the chance in ‘02 or ‘03… Idiots… Look at what Glendale is doing, they’ve got all kinds of stuff built around the stadium now and making bank!!!!
Well i wish they would do the same in Scottsdale, dump the over paid execs, trim the fat form Planning and Development, Fire Kroy Ekblaw, Neal Shearer and Mike Clack, David Ellison, and all the other do notings.
This is a devastating situation for not only the City of Mesa, but also the economy as a whole. The unemployment rate nationally is around 6.7%. I am sympathetic about the situation, that the city of Mesa is facing . But the City council, attempted to rectify the short fall with a request for a property tax a year of so ago. Nevertheless, the residents of Mesa voted it down. Well now you see the results, the residents have no one to blame but their own short sidedness. With that stated, the city council also has to take some of the heat for the stand on the issues, of only a sale tax to sustain the city. It was explained to me by a former council member that the city of Mesa had been using the retail sales tax for years as a tax base and it would continue to be using it into the future.
There is the use of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement service, if the city can no longer provide effective police protection. sigh !
Well here your sign! Changes must be made.
Maricopa County is facing a $50M shortfall of their own. Bye bye sweeps that waste money and hello ever more increasing response times.
I worked in the City Managers officer when Brady came here and there aren’t more people today than there was then. In fact, by not replacing the Assistant City Manager when she retired this year, you saved almost $200K right there.
WAIT A DOG-GONE MINUTE…HOW CAN MESA BE GOING BANKRUPT/ POLICE CHIEF GEORGE GASCON JUST SPENT $200,000.00 ON NICE NEW “L.AP.D. STYLE” BADGES FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND KANINE IN THE FORCE. WHAT WAS SO WRONG WITH THE OLD BADGES???…DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE MESA POLICE OFFICERS WILL DO A BETTER JOB BECAUSE THEY HAVE NICE NEW BADGES. WILL MESA’S “LEGAL” CITIZENS SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT KNOWING THAT THEIR POLICE FORCE IS ALL DECKED-OUT WITH THESE “SPIFFY” NEW, “JACK WEBB” STILL BADGES ????….HELLO, MAYOR SCOTT SMITH …..HELLO, MESA CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS….CAN ANY ONE IS MESA CITY MANAGEMENT TELL A CONCERNED “LEGAL” CITIZEN WHY THE MESA POLICE NEEDED THESE “STINKING BADGES” ??????….HELLO, ANY ONE THERE AT CITY HALL ?????…HELLO….HELLO.
Haven’t seen the badges yet……how about the “black and white” paint jobs? Don’t worry folks, the Waterpark will save us. “Hey, trust me!” Of course, the new softball fields Brady promised the west side just went up in smoke. Ask Chris “Hey, trust me!” Brady about that one. Good thing he hasn’t managed to sell off the old ones…..or has he? Since Riverview Golf course is falling apart,I don’t go over there anymore, certainly not to shop at that so called mall.