Lake Worth budget cuts could lead to 70 layoffs

The city could reduce its workforce by 70 employees, according to a proposal presented Friday by city manager Susan Stanton.

Among those who could be cut are library staff, who would be replaced by volunteers. Other jobs, such as park maintenance, would be done by outside contractors.

Twenty of the 70 could be temporary layoffs, based on union contracts that say that probationary employees must be laid off before full-time employees.

If qualified full-time employees do not apply for the 20 jobs, those probationary employees who were laid off could be rehired.

The city is also discussing cuts to its law-enforcement contract with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, which would probably reduce services.

Also proposed is a special assessment for fire-rescue protection. Other special assessments might be needed for streetlights and the acquisition of park lands. The city also will study the possibility of reestablishing its fire department if Palm Beach County is not able to modify its existing fire-rescue agreement with Lake Worth, Stanton said.

Grim as all that sounds, there is a bright spot. Stanton hopes to be able to reduce the cost of electricity by 4 to 5 percent. Lake Worth provides power at a rate that is about 12 percent higher than that charged by FPL, Stanton said.

Last month, residents objected so loudly to Lake Worth’s electric rates that the city commission added a code of decorum for its meetings.

In all, the cuts will reduce the city’s deficit from a projected $4.6 million to about $800,000 for fiscal year 2012, which begins in September.

The taxable value of city property dropped almost 47 percent, from $2.2 billion in 2007 to $1.1 billion in 2010.Despite repeated warnings that the cuts would be deep, Stanton is expecting the city’s three unions to object strenuously.

From: Palm Beach Post