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Council approves measures to protect funded positions, directs written layoff‑prevention report
Summary
The City Council approved a motion to prioritize filling funded positions and directed staff to prepare a written plan to prevent layoffs, instructing departments to report back under budget instruction 38; finance staff said about 500 employees expressed interest in posted transfer vacancies.
The City Council voted to approve a motion directing city departments to prioritize filling funded positions and to produce a written summary describing measures to prevent layoffs, the council said during the meeting.
The motion asks the departments of personnel and finance to prepare a written report consistent with "instruction 38 of the budget" and to attach it to Annex A‑F of the budget package, detailing measures to prevent layoffs and the proposed transfer process. City staff said the goal is to fill the positions before July 1 when possible.
Council members and staff debated how transfers and potential layoffs would be handled. Speakers described two parallel processes: a voluntary transfer pathway and a prescriptive process governed by civil service rules. One speaker said constraints tied to the pension system require a pre‑evaluation of statutes and make some transfers legally and administratively complex.
Finance staff told the council they have begun a hiring and matching process for funded positions. The finance director reported that roughly 500 city employees have expressed interest in applying for posted, similar positions and said the city will evaluate candidates and attempt to prioritize employees affected by the transfer process.
Staff also raised implementation and timing concerns: some transfer steps may take months and could continue through the end of the fiscal year; departments must verify employee status and monitor absences before completing transfers. The motion requires related departments to submit a written summary report next week on the actions required for these revenue‑generating positions.
A roll‑call vote followed; the council approved the motion with a modification. The meeting transcript records the vote as approved but does not provide a full roll‑call tally in the public record excerpt.
The council's action will require departments to coordinate personnel, finance and appointing authorities to implement the transfer and hiring steps and to report back in writing under the cited budget instruction.
