Layoffs Looming

The second round of layoffs due to budget cuts will take effect Wednesday, but some of those affected may find a new door opening by way of consultancies.

Although the layoff plan came from the administration and was passed by the City Council, a series of "Request for Qualifications" and Request for Proposals" notices ensued along with talk of saving at least a couple posts by outsourcing the duties. Click here for one Plaintalker report on the subject. By now, all the RFPs and RFQs that were published as legal notices are also posted on the city web site under "Information/Downloads."

Administrative hires do not require City Council approval, but contracts for consultants usually do go through the governing body. However, with only little over a month to spare before the end of the FY 2010 fiscal year, contract amounts may fall under the threshold for council approval.

Due to the June 8 primary, the City Council does not meet until June 14 for an agenda-fixing session, with the regular meeting to follow on June 21. The first meetings of the new FY 2011 budget year will be on July 12 and July 19.

Although there was an indication that efforts will be made to retain Laurence Rice as videographer for the local access television channels (Comcast Channel 96 and FiOS Channel 34), another skilled employee may not be so lucky. Despite outpourings of support for planner April Stefel, her numerous duties, including management of brownfields remediation activities, seemed destined to be handed off to Remington & Vernick, an engineering firm that already handles much city planning and engineering work.

The first round of layoffs caused a cascade of "bumping rights" that left the City Clerk's office hard-hit, with two seasoned employees moved to other City Hall jobs. The learning curve for their replacements nearly caused a standstill in operations one month and is still affecting efficiency in meeting the workload, which includes dealing with elections and annual liquor license renewals in addition to ongoing service to the governing body.

How this second round pans out remains to be seen, both in terms of efficiency and costs. The budget process usually includes hearing from department and division heads on their needs for the new fiscal year. Their budget requests are subject to initial modification by the administration before the governing body gets a crack at the budget. If key functions are spun off and outsourced, will consultants be willing or even able to sit through budget sessions to explain why they need funds? It's something to think about.

--Bernice Paglia