Affected departments included fire, maintenance, animal control and building inspection. However, because some city employees have the right to bump less senior employees from their jobs in non-affected departments, a major reshuffling could be in the works.
The cuts won’t take effect immediately. The city’s contracts with its employees calls for 6 momths of notice, meaning that these employees won’t be let go until two months into next the next fiscal year budget.
From the Daily Pilot:
About 213 Costa Mesa employees – nearly half of the city’s workforce – can expect layoff notices on Thursday, officials said.
More than 90 firefighters, 50 city maintenance workers, 30 dispatchers and a dozen city jail staff are among those being notified that their jobs will be outsourced in six months.
“Basically, the morale is in an all-time bottom,” said Helen Nenedal, president of the Costa Mesa City Employees Assn., which will bear the brunt of cuts. “I’ve been with the city for 30 years and morale has never been this low.
In a 4-to-1 vote March 1, the City Council approved outsourcing 18 city services, with Councilwoman Wendy Leece dissenting. Leece tried to reopen the issue for discussion at Tuesday’s council meeting but fell short when no other council members supported the move.
Read the full article here.