 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Council clamps down on hiring, construction
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
PINELLAS PARK -- Council members surprised the city staff last week by freezing jobs and construction projects to save money. The move is calculated to stave off a projected shortfall of about $1.1-million in the 2003-04 budget year caused by lower than expected revenues and increasing costs. The budget discussion was not on the published agenda for Tuesday's workshop. Council member Rick Butler raised the topic after he had met privately with Dan Katsiyiannis, head of the city's Office of Management and Budget. Katsiyiannis had met individually with each council member to discuss his predictions for the city's financial future. The move, made exactly three weeks into the new budget year, means 29 positions will remain open and jobs vacated now will not be filled. The already vacant positions include those of a police officer, the Police Department's victim's advocate and the head of the city's sewer department. The city has 577 employees. "This is presumably temporary to allow them to study (the situation)," said city spokesman Tim Caddell. "They could unfreeze positions as needed." Delayed, and perhaps permanently shelved, are dozens of projects, including such big-ticket items as the expansion of the police station, the purchase of land for a new swimming pool and fire station, and drainage repairs to Park Boulevard and 49th Street. Also up in the air is Park Station, the faux train station meant to be the centerpiece of the city's redevelopment area. The building will house the Pinellas Park/Mid-County Chamber of Commerce, the Pinellas Park art and historical societies, and city offices. If the council postpones Park Station construction, it's likely the chamber and art society would remain in ParkSide Mall, where they have been since their buildings were razed to make way for the train station. The Historical Society could remain homeless. Its artifacts have been in storage since the city sold its building. A full list of affected projects will not be available until late Monday. "We're scrambling, trying to get all the information put together," Assistant City Manager Mike Gustafson said. Benefits and employee raises will be unaffected, including those council members recently voted for themselves. Likewise, construction projects will proceed if bids already have been awarded. Those include some improvements at Davis Field and the basketball courts. Other projects that are funded from grants, such as a dog park, also will go ahead if the city receives the money. City officials and council members touted the hiring and construction freeze as a proactive, responsible approach to avoid trouble. Pinellas Park, they said, is in fine financial shape and they want to keep it that way. The bright side is that becoming "lean and mean" could mean a future tax decrease for city property owners, Butler said. Council member Patricia Bailey-Snook said businesses are moving to Pinellas Park and new construction is going on everywhere. "We're just trying to err on the side of caution," Bailey-Snook said. Still, she said that Katsiyiannis' warnings rated radical action that had not been taken since she returned to the council in 1986. Butler, who called Katsiyiannis' financial predictions the "gloom and doom curve," said, "The gist is that our expenses are going to continue to increase and that we need to take a little closer look at what we're doing." Leaving jobs open, he said, also will allow the city to decide if it wants to reorganize departments. One of those could be the sewer department where division head Bill LeVan soon will retire. "The fact is, there's no better time than now," Butler said. At a July workshop, Katsiyiannis had warned that revenues would be less than expected. That was a fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which resulted in less tourism, a sluggish economy and low interest rates. Added to that was a declining stock market, which hurt the city's investments. Katsiyiannis warned then that Pinellas Park was in danger of having its savings slip below the recommended minimum that ensures the city can keep operating in tough times. In Pinellas Park, that figure is about $3.6-million, or 10 percent of the city's $36-million operating budget. The savings are used to get the city through emergencies and natural disasters, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, and for operating expenses while the city waits for revenue to come in. At the time, Katsiyiannis said one solution would be to pare spending by limiting raises, not filling some jobs, cutting programs or cutting jobs. Council members took no action then. It's unclear why the private meetings with Katsiyiannis sparked the hiring and construction freeze now. Both Butler and Bailey-Snook denied it was because the situation had gotten worse. Instead, they said Katsiyiannis had become more insistent that something be done. The city is paying Katsiyiannis for his expertise, Butler said, so it would be wise to listen to him. Hiring at a standstillThe Pinellas Park City Council ordered a hiring freeze to save money. So far, 29 jobs in Nine police jobs, including one officer, the victim's advocate, two full-time and one part-time dispatcher. Nine public works jobs, including the head of the sewer division. Three community activities jobs: One full-time and one part-time library assistant and a part-time recreation assistant. Two each in finance, community development and information systems. One each in human resources and the Fire Department, which needs a lieutenant to oversee an emergency medical team. -- Source: City of Pinellas Park
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks Dr. Delay Letters |
