By Khalida Sarwari
The San Jose City Council on Thursday approved Mayor Chuck Reed’s 2010-2011 budget proposal to close a $118.5 million shortfall but deferred action on pay concessions for five labor unions.
The council voted 8-3 to approve the proposed budget following a lengthy meeting, during which the council also decided to defer action on wage and benefit concessions with five labor unions until Tuesday.
Councilmembers Ash Kalra, Nancy Pyle and Nora Campos voted against the budget proposal.
“The $118.5 million shortfall is the worst in San Jose’s history,” Reed said. “We’ve been cutting services and trimming the fat for the last decade. This year’s shortfall requires that everybody share the pain to save services and jobs.”
The council met on Thursday to make a decision on whether to impose a 10 percent cut in wages and benefits on employees or to accept a last-minute proposal brought forward by a coalition of five remaining unions with whom the city has not reached an agreement.
On Tuesday the council had delayed making a decision after union representatives asked for more time to allow negotiators to review their proposal.
Union representatives say their proposal is equal to a 10 percent concession in total compensation and meets the city’s demands, but that their offer was rejected due to legal issues.
City staff, however, claim the proposal cannot be accepted because it includes a provision that is contrary to the city charter and that the proposal does not guarantee savings.
Reed and other councilmembers expressed disappointment that the proposal could not be accepted but agreed with the city manager’s recommendation that the city impose pay concessions.
“On Tuesday I was really glad to see a proposal come forward,” Councilwoman Rose Herrera said. “I’m disappointed and I’m sad that I don’t feel I can support the proposal today.”
Kalra, Campos, and Pyle, however, sided with the unions.
“I think what we have here is a failure to communicate,” Pyle said. “I’m angry, because we are making it harder and harder to deal with us.”
At Thursday’s meeting, several union representatives asked the council to postpone making a decision for at least one more day.
“An imposition is really sending the wrong message,” said Nancy Ostrowski, who represents a union of senior analysts and program managers and another union of engineers and architects.
The five unions still negotiating are the City Association of Management Personnel, which represents senior analysts and program managers; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; the Association of Engineers and Architects; the Association of Maintenance Supervisory Personnel, representing building maintenance superintendents and building
services supervisors; and the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents maintenance assistants, park rangers and parking and traffic control officers.
The city reached an agreement with the Association of Legal Professionals Monday night. On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved a proposal for 10 percent concessions in total compensation from the union, which represents 46 public attorneys.
With potential concessions from employee unions to be finalized on Tuesday, the budget will allow six community centers that were slated for closure later this summer to remain open. Community members have campaigned heavily for elected officials to save the Alma, Alum Rock, Alviso, Gardner, Starbird, and Washington centers.
The budget would also restore the Police Department’s sexual assault investigations unit, keep city libraries open 39 hours a week, keep other community centers at existing service levels and prevent layoffs from the police or fire departments.
With the approval of the budget proposal, City Manager Debra Figone and her team will begin preparing a final 2010-2011 budget for council approval next week. The final budget will take effect in July.