The City of Sacramento has penciled out a financial plan that will save the jobs of dozens of city employees who were in danger of being laid off amid its $66 million budget shortfall \u2014 with $124,000 to spare.<\/p>\n
Twenty-six parks maintenance employees were slated to lose their jobs<\/a> as the city sought to balance its budget while facing a deficit for the third consecutive year.<\/p>\n The most recent proposed budget<\/a>, expected to be approved by the City Council at next week\u2019s meeting, decreases the city\u2019s contribution to its economic uncertainty reserve, reduces North Natomas parks maintenance contracts and freezes the community ambassador program to restore the park positions and four program coordinator staff positions at the Hart Senior Center.<\/p>\n The 26 park positions cost the city $567,000 and the four senior support positions cost $273,000.<\/p>\n Payden Martin, a union representative for Local 39, said that the outcome is a win for both workers and the people of Sacramento.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s a victory for my members and a victory for the city, it\u2019s also a victory for the community,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to lose these people who are out there providing services that they all enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n Parks maintenance workers are responsible for both general maintenance of the parks and cleaning up hazardous materials, like feces or used needles.<\/p>\n Despite the good news for union workers, the layoff notices were not without consequence, Martin said. Two of the four full-time support staffers for Hart Senior Center vacated their positions and at least six of the 26 park workers who were pink slipped have pursued alternative employment or early retirement.<\/p>\n Martin, like many, wants to see the city\u2019s structural deficit be addressed to avoid a similar situation in future years.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that there\u2019s somebody somewhere who can find a plan to shore up these resources to ensure that what is not a huge amount of money can be supported,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n Early budget focus pays off<\/p>\n Several council members and staffers have said that the city\u2019s budget process was less strenuous this go around because they started much earlier in the year, allowing more time for the council to deliberate. In the past month, City Manager Maraskeshia Smith has amended the budget to restore grants to youth violence prevention programs<\/a> and funding for recreational swim hours at the council\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n At the last meeting in which they voted on budget direction, council members Lisa Kaplan and Mai Vang voted no, although for opposing reasons.<\/p>\n