THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406170573
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: PORTSMOUTH
If the City Council goes along with the study, as expected, 10 percent of the city's professional positions, including engineers, executive secretaries and supervisors, would be cut. City Manager V. Wayne Orton said the consultants have concentrated on those positions because the city has eliminated 102 lower-level jobs over the past three years.
{REST} Several council members said Thursday that although laying off workers is difficult, they believe the city needs a leaner, more efficient work force.
Although the preliminary report calls for eliminating 50 jobs, the city may not have to lay off that many because 30 upper- and mid-level positions are already vacant.
Orton said he doesn't know yet which departments will be affected or which positions the consultants recommended cutting.
He said the downsizing is driven by the city's ``economic challenges'' and by taxpayers' demand for ``more efficient government.''
Last year the city spent $65,000 more than it collected in revenues. Orton said he expects revenues to remain flat for the next two years.
``This is not out of financial desperation,'' he said. ``But I wasn't content remaining on the sidelines waiting for better times to hit. I have been saying all along we have more jobs than we need. It's always good business to re-evaluate, reorganize and retool.''
The city manager said he hopes to make a final recommendation to the City Council by the end of next week.
The city plans to give any employees it lays off two weeks' notice and two months' in severance pay.
Orton implemented a hiring freeze last month so that current employees who are laid off could apply for job vacancies.
``We will give the employees affected by the layoffs the first opportunity to apply for existing vacancies,'' said Roy Cherry, deputy city manager. ``There is no guarantee they will be hired for those jobs; they will have to have the skills to meet the job requirements.''
Orton said the cuts will have ``moderate or little impact'' on services the city provides.
``Department heads will have a chance to say if it's going to throw a big clinker in their department,'' Mayor Gloria O. Webb said. ``But the council and the manager will have the final decision.''
Whatever happens, several employees said knowing the results will help relieve stress at City Hall. When the efficiency study was announced, morale sank as employees wondered whether they would be the target of layoffs.
``I provided my employees with an update and the specifics on severance pay today,'' Lydia P. Patton, the city's director of leisure services, said Thursday.
{KEYWORDS} CITY EMPLOYEE LAYOFF DOWNSIZING
by CNB