Coleman Calls For More Layoffs
NBC 4
Mayor Mike Coleman and Columbus city council are meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss proposals for balancing the city’s 2009 budget.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Mayor Mike Coleman and Columbus city council met Wednesday afternoon to discuss proposals for balancing the city’s 2009 budget.
NBC 4’s Ana Jackson reported with the FAST FACTS.
Coleman announced additional layoffs Wednesday—one day after announcing that the city’s new police recruits were laid off before graduating.
Twelve employees from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Columbus Municipal Association Of Government Employees(CMAGE); and one other union were to be laid off, saving $500,000. The unions involved represent laborers and middle management, Jackson reported.
Jackson spoke with a CMAGE union representative who said he was never notified about the impending layoffs. He said he was completely shocked by the news. He said this is a grave concern and possibly a direct threat to the unions.
Apparently, CMAGA also was in contract negotiations with the city.
Coleman also implemented a five-day temporary layoff for non-uniformed city personnel. Although Coleman is not sure how the temporary layoffs will be implemented, he said the move will save the city $1.6 million.
Officials said the temporary layoffs will affect 1,200 to 1,300 employees from the general fund. Employees from other city funds are excluded.
City officials said they will do their best to prevent interrupting public services.
The union layoffs plus Columbus firefighters’ pay-raise delay and recruit layoffs will save the city a combined $6.4 million.
Coleman said the cuts weren’t over because he has to make up $13 million total—leaving another $6.6 million to account for the rest of the deficit.
A spokesperson for the city said the unions were not notified because the cuts affect everyone—not just them. If they would have agreed to forgo their raises, the mayor wouldn’t have to lay anyone off because he would have made enough money cuts with the raises.
Coleman said that no one—even sworn officers—will be excluded from future cuts and added that there will be more announcements in the coming weeks.
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Reader Reactions
The same riff-raff that helped close up the City Center will close the park also. The City Center was a good idea. Unfortunately I am a witness to too many show-offs and people doing ugly things to others trying to enjoy a weekend of shopping and spending time with family and friends.
How can the mayor talk about moving forward with spending millions of dollars to demolish the Downtown Columbus’ City Center Mall and replaced by a park surrounded by residential, retail and office space during the same period of time he is laying of City workers, asking the Police and Fire Departments for wage concessions? It sounds like he has all of his priorities wrong. Even if the money comes out of different budgets maybe he should be looking at a way to channel dollars into the necessary services instead of projects like the City Center.
Budget Woes Force End To Yard-Waste Collection can we force an end to coleman,s reign as mayor.
http://www.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/local_govtpolitics/article/budget_woes_force_end_to_yard-waste_collection/12333/
Anywhere liberalism has to react to an emergency, it will always make it worse. What the mayor has done is guarantee more layoffs. I think he should cut the taxes to produce more jobs from the private sector and that will increase revenue. Take a hint from Art laffer and Ronald Reagan.
ok Hugh Dorrian for mayor sounds like he knows what he is doing. We need someone who knows what is important for columbus as a whole not just downtown. so hey how bout we ask if Hugh want,s the job as the next mayor of columbus. i asked ch4 now you get the answer.
He needs to be out!!! The city came down our street last year and planted trees!!?? Yes trees that no one wanted. We have enough to deal with in the fall with the ones that we have. I told them that I did not want one and they were very rude about it. The lady that lives next to me came home to a new tree in her yard and ask the city worker about taking care of it and he said that she needed to do that and that if it died then she would have to replace it!!!
What this shows is one more thing that he wasted our tax money on and now he wants to cut jobs that may cost us more in the long run because some one has to do them. He is a waste of our time and money. I cant wait for the next election, maybe we can get him out before hand! He is a joke and a crook and he is taking the great city of Columbus down with him!
4 watcher and Frenchman-either one of you is Michael Coleman or are part of his cabinet. You are way too obvious.
Nobody in their right mind would think he has done a good job. Ask his wife why she drinks so much-he has more flaws than a smashed cubic zirconia. You can bet that even if cops suffer his kid won’t. He should be really pro-fire after his house accidently (yeah, right) caught on fire (twice). I am all for impeachment and will sign any petition and if petitions are given to union leaders, I am sure they will get them filled! City employees have worked too hard and too long to be insulted by that money wasting, self centered dandy!
I find it interesting that the overwhelming majority of posts concerning this article address the possible laying-off of Fire and Police.
Many of you seem to forget that Fire and Police do not keep this City running. Too many of you have forgotten the Refuse workers who pick up your trash (15 of them were lai-off), or the personnel who work in the Recs & Parks centers or who are responsible for keeping our parks maintenanced and clean (11 were closed and way too many have been laid off). How about the Office Assistants and Fiscal Assistants who keep many of these city offices operating? How about the Laborers who do the grunt work, but are now in the process of getting ready to collect unemployment? What about them???
Coleman spent $5 million dollars removing the bridge between City Center and the old Lazarus building on Town Street. Was that really necessary? How about the $4-5 million that is being written off by Columbus Urban? Why are no questions being asked about that? How about the fact that Hugh Dorrian told Coleman back in 2000, yes 2000, that a deficit was possible in the near future and that some thought needed to be given to a income tax increase? And, what about the fact that Hugh Dorrian reminded Coleman and City Council almost 2-3 years ago that this deficit was going to happen and something needs to be done to avert it? Did anything get done? H**l no, it didn’t.
Coleman, City Council and others have spent our tax dollars, wait,let me correct that… They have wasted millions of our tax dollars and they are not being held accountable for it. Hugh Dorrian was the only City official who didn’t have his head up his butt.
Let’s break this down even more… AFSCME gets a 3% raise, but in return, the health insurance contributions they have to make goes up by 3%. That means that individual really didn’t get a raise. CMAGE has not had a pay increase since 2007. The 2008 pay increase is still being negotiated and if Coleman gets his way, the 2009 pay increase will not happen. Police didn’t take their pay increases in 2008, but you best believe Coleman made sure that he and his buddies got their pay increases last year. His taking a pay freeze now means absoltely NOTHING!!! If he wanted to do the right thing, he and his buddies would give back their pay increases from last year and take their pay back to their 2007 levels.
I’m a City employee and I am absolutely heated over what I see this man doing and what I’ve seen done. No one should forget that there is more to this and there is more being lost than possible Fire and Police personnel. There are hundreds of City employees who keep this city running who are in danger of losing their jobs or who have already lost their jobs. Where is your passion for them?
Hi everyone, love the comments.
In response to the “cheesed*ck” post comments, he is right. What is the necessary level of police protection needed in our city. Fortunately it is already documented. If you look at City Council’s web page, they have determine that CPD’s staff of uniformed officers is around 1950. Currently there are only 1850 uniformed officers. CPD was hoping to fill a lot of gaps with that recruit class Coleman just layed off to help get the number of minimum staffing closer to 1950.. Go ahead “Cheesed*ck”, do the math. CPD is already understaffed and laying off recruits just put that back another 6 months at least. (that is how long it take to train to be the police) Now, with the manditory retirement in 2010/2011- drop the 1850 down to approx 1550. Lets see “Cheesed*ck”, that puts them about 400 officers short. Sure hope you don’t call one of them to come help you, might take quite a while. Don’t drive through the ghetto, you will never get help. If I was Coleman, I sure would start to worry about the City’s crime rate. Coleman just put all of our citizen’s lifes in grave danger for a long time to come. Great job Mayor. Can’t imagine how long it will take to get staff up to normal.. Who knows how many cops will either retire early or just plain quit. Put that number now around 1450. (only 500 officers short now)
Im going to go to the Columbus Metro Library today and print off the petitions as well as get a city map of Columbus so we can get the districts situated and from there appoint the “go to person” if you will. Also with the petitons there will be information attached in regards to Coleman and his wrong doings, I will also attach a letter showing we the citizens can do this as well as any legal information and the site to go to. I will work on a website or if anyone has better knowledge to doing that let me know, all the help we can get and those who are serious will help tremendously. Talk with you all soon. I have created a yahoo account for those who want to email me with questions or volunteer. It is rc197642@yahoo.com get ahold of me there.
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