Six police officers slated for layoff
The City Council Tuesday night approved a budget that closes a $7.2 million shortfall. But the adopted budget is balanced in part by laying off six police officers and demoting two others. Six of the seven city employee unions accepted a six percent pay cut proposed by City Manager Bill Workman as a means of trimming $3.5 million from a city budget that has suffered severe hits to tax revenue streams due to the prolonged economic downturn. One of the unions, the Teamsters, agreed at 5 p.m. Tuesday, only an hour before the City Council met to adopt a budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. But the Redondo Beach Police Officers Association has not yet come to an agreement with the city, and so Workman resorted to what he has called “Plan B” – proposed layoffs that achieve the same cost savings as the requested wage concession. The budget, which by law must be enacted by June 30, will require layoff notices to be sent to six officers in early July, while two sergeants would also be demoted. The total savings realized through the layoffs and demotions would be $796,000. The six officers’ salaries range from $110,000 to $141,000; the demotions each include $33,000 downgrades in pay. The…
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