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Council presses for staff-hour cuts; legal counsel and union rep urge formal bargaining process
Summary
A councilor proposed cutting office staff hours to save money; legal counsel warned that the mayor must implement personnel changes and that the union must be consulted. The union’s local principal (Rick Salinas) committed to meet if the council sends a formal request.
Council member S2 said the city must cut costs and identified office staff hours as the only area where the council believes savings can be found: "The reason we're wanting to do this is because we're always being told we're broke," S2 said, urging faster action after months of discussion.
Legal counsel told the body that personnel decisions and schedules are the mayor’s administrative prerogative and that any changes affecting employee hours must be negotiated with the union. "Your role is we need a budget—we need to reduce the spending in City Hall. Mayor, make it happen," S6 said, explaining that the council sets budget directives but the mayor implements personnel changes and must bargain impacts with the union.
Rick Salinas, who identified himself to the council, said he represents the local membership and offered to meet with city leadership. "If you send that out to us formally, then we commit to meeting with you and working as best as we can to find some type of resolution," S7 said. Councilors discussed options including voluntary furloughs, temporarily closing offices one day a week, or adjusting shift schedules to reduce overtime exposure while avoiding layoffs.
No formal personnel action was taken. Councilors asked the mayor to develop a plan and to coordinate with legal counsel and the union; S6 recommended handling negotiations through a delegated management bargaining team and noted there is a union contract process for layoffs and schedule changes.
