ASHTABULA — Still stumped over ways to make up a projected $862,000 shortfall in the 2010 budget, City Council mulled the matter during a special meeting Monday night.
President Charles Brockway started the meeting by removing an agreement with the firefighters union from the agenda. In a memorandum of understanding, firefighters agreed to reduce daily minimum staffing from six firefighters and one inspector to five firefighters and no inspector.
Brockway said council first wanted to meet with the police department’s union.
City Auditor Michael Zullo suggested meeting with representatives of each of the city workers’ three unions: police, fire and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1197.
“It seems to work out better (than meeting with all three at once),” he said.
After some discussion, council decided to have Brockway and Vice President Betty Kist meet with union officials and report back to it.
Ward 2 Councilman August Pugliese said he wanted to be sure seniority was taken into consideration.
Zullo reminded council that $862,000 in the red constitutes a fiscal emergency.
“It’s not a good thing for our city,” he said.
Brockway said city income-tax collections are down $521,000 versus a year ago.
“That’s quite a bit of money over one year’s time,” he said. “I don’t believe the economy is going to get much better.”
Just last week, in the wake of the financial crisis, Pugliese moved to have six nonunion municipal employees take one day without pay off a month. Pugliese also moved to slash the city manager and solicitor’s pay by 5 percent. The motions passed 6-1, with Ward 4 Councilwoman Julie Lattimer casting the only no vote.
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