| | Published July 4th, 2012
| Tensions Run High in Teamster Communications with City Leaders
| | Laurie Snyder | | |
The Orinda City Council and City managers have been receiving an earful from employees and their union representatives since deciding to reorganize several departments.
On June 19, the Council heard from staff troubled by changes planned for co-workers - and from Peter Finn, vice president of Teamsters' Local 856. Finn visibly annoyed Council members when he refused to step away from the microphone after running over his allotted time during the opening Public Forum period and again later when he attempted to place himself at the head of the public comment line regarding budget deliberations. Ignored by Mayor Steve Glazer, Finn paced angrily back and forth behind the first speaker, a City employee trying to articulate her colleagues' frustration, but he was eventually allowed to speak again.
In Parks and Recreation, one Senior Administrative Assistant (SAA) and one Recreation Manager position will be downgraded, and a vacant Administrative Assistant II (AAII) position will be eliminated with a second AAII job reduced in hours. A SAA helping with front desk coverage for the Administrative/City Manager's Office will return to Police Services full time and another will return half-time to Planning. Savings are estimated at $98,189 with a net decrease of 1.33 FTE (full-time equivalent position). Details are available in the staff report on the City's website (item G-4).
Additionally, an Assistant Planner position will also be cut.
Nicole Casey, director of communications for Teamsters 856, and Finn kept the pressure up with a press release the next day. "Yesterday, City of Orinda employees overwhelmingly voted 'No Confidence' in the City Council's flawed decision-making process after the Council slashed city services in direct conflict with staff recommendations that would have balanced the budget. Last week, all employees of Orinda, both management and rank and file, advised the Council that they would accept a 3.1 percent wage reduction to balance the budget and avoid cutting critical positions and services."
Describing the release as "filled with misinformation and falsehoods," City Manager Janet Keeter pointed out that "the Teamsters do not represent the Management or Mid-Management employees." No services or essential positions were cut, said Keeter, who explained that the "Assistant Planner position is not critical as the workload and revenues have diminished with the downturn in the economy."
Finn, according to the release, suggested alternatives "that included equitable sacrifices by top management and requested a temporary delay in cuts until the final fiscal year numbers were in. The latest numbers through May show a surplus of $970,000. Our request was simply to wait for the close of the fiscal year to see the final numbers before implementing severe cuts."
Stating that she had given information explaining the surplus to Finn a week before the Council meeting, Keeter said that the General Fund "reflects a 'surplus' of approximately $950,000" as of May 31 - "primarily due to a timing matter." Various property and sales tax revenues are received in April and May before being expended in June.
"These payments pay most of the City's general expenses each fiscal year," said Keeter - and include roughly $700,000 in fiscal end-of-the-year payments for the police services contract, $500,000 for payroll and vendors, and $450,000, which will be used to cover the Glorietta Storm Drain and El Toyonal Road and Slope projects.
In response to Teamster representative comments that "The Council's consistent refusal to respect the recommendations of those employees who run the day-to-day operations of the city demonstrates that they are out of touch and operate in a vacuum," Keeter responded, "The City must make structural changes that will result in long-term savings, not just in one time savings. Local governments are downsizing to reflect service needs, workload, and the costs and revenues associated with doing the public business."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA