News - Local News

POSTED: Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009

Ferndale asks union employees to take 2010 wage freeze, faces $209,000 deficit

FERNDALE - Before Mayor Gary Jensen asked employee unions that represent city staffers to consider a wage freeze in 2010, he asked his department heads first.

"It was important that all department heads made the sacrifice first," Jensen said. "This would send a very important message, to show that the leadership has also sacrificed."

Those department heads agreed, and three other non-union staff members have also had their wages frozen next year. It's part of a plan by the mayor's administration to battle a $209,000 deficit in the 2010 budget.

Now, three unions have also been asked to consider a freeze. If all 61 city employees end up receiving a wage freeze at 2009 levels, the city would save about $120,000 next year.

That means other services the city supports financially will suffer no matter what, because there would still be a gap, the mayor said.

"It will probably hurt some people," he said. "In terms of service organizations, some festivals. We have to. We have to present a balanced budget. We can't pull any more out of reserves because we did it last year."

The local Teamsters union is speaking to its members about the issue, said representative Steve Thorp. But the union also wants the city to show that it's doing some actual belt tightening.

Thorp noted that in June, City Council members, with support from Jensen's administration, increased the city's outstanding debt sharply from $3.7 million to nearly $12.3 million in order to issue $8 million in bonds for a new library and new police station.

"The union's concern is once you go in debt to build these buildings, what happens if there is no economic recovery in 2012? How is that debt cap going to be paid?" Thorp said. "We feel that the city needs to show us that they really have some responsibilities to tighten their belt before they start cutting our jobs."

City Finance Director Mark Peterson said the council then also increased solid-waste taxes in order to pay down that debt. Barring the county's two garbage collectors leaving the area or going out of business, Peterson said, the city will have the revenue to pay its debt.

"I do see a robust recovery in 2012, that's from your chief economist for the city," he said.

The city has asked the union to respond to its request by Sept. 8. Thorp said he was unsure whether the union could meet that deadline.

Jensen's goal is to avoid layoffs in the 2010 budget, and he said he's heard from employees who say staffing is already so thin that there is basically nobody left to cut.

"If this doesn't work and we had to go layoffs, boy I don't know," he said. "I don't know what we'd do. Stop mowing grass in the parks, or something."