I left the council meeting last night feeling like I’d been kicked in the gut. After working to save jobs in the police department, we had to pass a budget that called for layoffs.
When we first learned of the impact our projected budget would have on KPD, some of us began working on a plan to keep some of the officers that would be lost. We needed around $300,000 to pay the salaries and benefits for the four positions that were threatened. The proposal we made was, reduce departmental salaries by 5%, and we’ll fund the rest of the shortage.
The 5% reduction would have saved the city around $90,000. That means the council would have put a little over $200,000 back into the budget to save the officers. The city’s ultimate offer included three additional floating holidays each year, and an additional four floaters during 2011, when the salaries would be reduced. The city manager and police chief also agreed to reduce their pay by 5% if the officers agreed to the deal.
We found out earlier Tuesday afternoon that the proposal had not been approved by the Association. The margin was apparently one vote.
Even though our offer was rejected, we considered putting our share of the money back into the budget to save some of the positions. We just don’t think we’re going to have the money to spend in 2011, though. We do have a reserve fund, but it’s dwindling fast as we’ve tried to use it to prevent things like this the last couple years. Continuing that downward spiral was just not sustainable, and the council voted 5-1 not to throw funds toward reducing the layoffs.
That vote hurt. We’re losing some good officers who work hard for the citizens of Kelso. I wish we had a better answer.
Daily News