Budget Cuts a Puzzle Without Union Help

Cost-cutting measures such as layoffs, converting to electronic records and pooling resources could improve the city’s bottom line, but the real key is union concessions, City Administrator Bibi Taylor said in budget talks Monday.

Of a half-dozen bargaining units, only two are currently willing to come to the table, but the city needs a coordinated effort of all unions, even those representing public safety, she said. Likening tax reduction to squeezing a balloon, she said if positions are restored, cuts must be made someplace else.

"That someplace doesn't exist any more in municipal government," she said.

The City Council began budget hearings on the introduced SFY 2011 budget in late October. Monday’s review covered the offices of tax assessor, tax collector, purchasing agent and audit and control. Of a $70 million budget, $50 million is projected to come from city taxpayers. The introduced budget includes several reductions from fulltime to part-time employment and a furlough plan for the Department of Public Works & urban Development.

Purchasing Agent David Spaulding said his division is strained by two layoffs earlier this year for the 2010 budget year. An automated system for requisitions and purchase orders – numbering 5,066 in the 2010 budget year - would help his office’s operations, he said.

Tax Collector Marie Glavan said her office would suffer from having the assistant tax collector reduced to half-time. The office is behind on filing documents in its manual system, she said. Glavan suggested a lock box plan that would allow a local bank to collect current taxes and forward them to her office in summary form, thus avoiding a pileup of mail. Councilman William Reid said he pays his taxes online through his bank, but Glavan said that was not the same as a lock box.

Tax Assessor Tracy Bennett said her long term goal is to have everything computerized, but in the short term, her office needs to start addressing a county-mandated change to put detailed property information into a “computer assisted mass appraisal” system. The city has not had a recent revaluation and will have to enter the information manually at a projected rate of 3,000 properties per year for 10,288 taxable properties and 501 exempt properties. Bennett deplored the proposed reduction to half-time of her assistant assessor, but officials said it may be restored through a budget amendment.

Taylor presented the Audit & Control report to the council and also cited automation of manual functions as a goal. Councilman Cory Storch noted the city still needs a chief finance officer and said without one, the division will have a hard time meeting its goals. Alluding to a state mandate to hire one by the end of November or face fines, Storch joked that the council would be “taking up a collection of $25 a day” to get one. Councilman Adrian Mapp said he was concerned that the division was not staffed adequately, and Reid agreed, saying he wants answers on how long the new IT division will take to implement the “grandiose ideas to save paperwork” that were voiced Monday night.

Tomorrow’s budget session, from 7 to 9 p.m. in City Hall Library, includes the Plainfield Public Library, the city clerk’s office and the IT/media division.

--Bernice Paglia