City of Sheboygan Seeks Concessions from Labor Unions

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Link to October 14 Sheboygan Press article.

Excerpt: Top Sheboygan officials will meet with the presidents of the labor unions representing the bulk of municipal employees on Friday to discuss possible concessions aimed at reducing the $1.7 million shortfall in the city's proposed 2011 budget.

The budget, outlined Wednesday by Finance Director James Amodeo before the council's Finance Committee, calls for no increase in the property tax levy, no use of the city's reserve funds, and the cutting of 24 positions, including seven in the Police Department, six in the Fire Department, six in Public Works and three at Mead Public Library to close the gap.

"We'll see what the union does with some concessions; maybe we can bring some (employees) back on," Amodeo said after the finance meeting. "But short of that, the council has to make a decision on how many people they want to go, what services they don't want and if they need to dip into their general fund reserve balances, which you know is not our charter."

Under the 2011 proposed budget, the city's property tax levy would hold steady at $20,843,745, the same as this year. The overall general fund budget would fall nearly $1 million, to $34.1 million, a 2.74 percent drop.

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All of a sudden, after reading Mayor Ryan's welcome, I think of Patricia Cavill's statement, People pay attention to the things that they love and value.  (From "The Importance of Creating a Common Agenda".)

Bob, the next time you're in beautiful downtown Sheboygan, you might also want to visit your community's excellent library.