City workers sound alarm on cutbacks

For the first time in recent memory, the five employee unions of Petaluma City Hall are uniting together to press for solutions to the city’s shrinking tax revenue — and to take aim at arguments that more retail stores won’t help the situation.

During a meeting with a Chamber of Commerce committee recently, representatives of the unions presented an outline of their concerns that touched on the implications of city cutbacks.

“We are concerned with the economic instability of the community and fear we can no longer provide basic services at the current level of funding,” said a document prepared by the union group and obtained by the Argus-Courier.

“Lack of revenue seriously threatens the ability of city staff to provide services and programs that residents and businesses have come to expect and depend upon,” the document stated. “Our motto until recently was ‘doing more with less,’ but that has changed to ‘doing less with less.’”

The unions also weighed in on the ongoing debate over whether “big box” stores could help keep Petaluma residents shopping in town and boost the local sales tax: “We feel it is the responsibility of the council to provide every opportunity for retail; to find ways now to plug the retail leakage and to improve the economic and financial health and vitality of the city,” the document said.

In more direct statements, the union document questioned concerns that big-box stores would drive out local businesses and asserted that “the business community needs to run for council office.”

The six union representatives who attended the Sept. 18 meeting with the chamber’s Government Affairs and Economic Development Committee either did not return calls for comment or said they were not authorized by their executive boards to discuss the meeting. They represented associations of workers such as police, firefighters, office and maintenance workers and mid-managers.

The unions, which represent 97 percent of the city’s 288 full-time employees, came together as a “unified voice” following city layoffs earlier this year, their memo said.

Since October, the city has lost 50 employees either due to early retirements or layoffs prompted by budget-cutting moves. The general fund, which pays for most city services, has shrunk from $44 million in the 2007-2008 fiscal year to $34 million this year.

Though he wasn’t at the meeting, the president of the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — which represents 110 city workers — said he was told much of the discussion focused on the impact of further city cuts this year.

City officials have said the general fund has a $1.5 million shortfall that could grow to $2 million by the June 30 end of the fiscal year.

The estimated $9.3 million in sales tax this year is “definitely off of where we expected it to be,” City Manager John Brown said. “It could be as much as $900,000 from what we budgeted.”

AFSCME head Doug Silacci said the shortfall was a topic of conversation at the chamber meeting.

“Everyone was talking about how the city is $1.5 million in the red already for this fiscal year,” Silacci said. “We’re waiting to see what will be done. More likely than not, the cuts are going to come out of AFSCME.”

The union document outlined “specific actions” the employee associations wanted the chamber committee to take, such as boosting retail and entertainment opportunities for visitors, encouraging new business to come to Petaluma and help defeating a sewer rate rollback initiative on next year’s ballot.

The chamber’s executive director, Onita Pellegrini, said the unions did not ask for any lobbying efforts by the business organization, but agreed to stay in touch with the chamber about their “mutual concerns” regarding the effects of the economic recession.

“We all have the same goal, which is a healthy general fund,” Pellegrini said. “The only decision was to stay in contact with each other to discuss what we can do to help resolve our economic crisis.”

Brown and Mayor Pamela Torliatt did not attend the meeting and said they hadn’t seen the union document.

While Brown said the decision of the unions to come together in order to speak out presents “some cause for concern,” he said his office had “constant and positive communications” with represented employees.

He lauded the employees’ decision to spend their day off “talking to a potential ally in fighting the initiative” regarding sewer rates.

Torliatt said without seeing the union memo, she could not comment on its contents. But she noted that each council member had met individually with union representatives earlier this year and defended the council’s efforts to boost the local economy and improve the budget situation.

The city is in the “final days” of selecting a consultant for a strategic economic plan, has seen planning department revenue increase over last year and has made progress on an improved East Washington Street interchange and other job-creating projects, she said.

She also noted that a final environmental report has been ordered for the East Washington Place shopping center and said the council is committed to streamlining its review.

Boosting sales tax — the main source of revenue for the city’s general fund — and providing local shopping opportunities “is exactly what this council has been pursuing,” Torliatt said.

She said the union groups had gone to the chamber without first making their specific concerns known to the council.

“The issues they brought up were never given to the City Council,” she said. “I haven’t received any specifics on how they would increase revenues. I think it’s unfortunate that the labor folks didn’t give the feedback to the council after our meetings.”

(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)