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Apr 23, 2009 7:26 pm US/Eastern
Coral Gables In The Red, Job Cuts Loom
CORAL GABLES (CBS4) ―
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Coral Gables City by City
CBS
Coral Gables might have to layoff employees to plug its $9 million budget shortfall. On Thursday, newly hired City Manager Pat Salerno told CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald that eliminating jobs was one of many cost-reducing measures.
''The city has been fortunate. It has not had to deal with the effects of the economy sooner, but they have come to bear now,'' Salerno told the newspaper.
He predicts the financial problem could balloon after June 1st when the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser releases preliminary property values, which determines how much the city will receive in taxes.
''Those could go down. That could further increase the projected shortfall for next year," Salerno said.
Revenues from other sources have also been down including parking, permits, occupational fees and parks and recreation, he said.
He added that "multiple measures" would be taken immediately to avoid the shortfall before the fiscal year ends on September 30th, but gave no specifics. The city projects an estimated $7 million shortfall next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
''The solution to this financial challenge cannot be any one single item. You can't look at any one aspect. There will likely be positions cut," he said. "The only message I have shared with staff is that my focus, my goal, is to cut as few positions as possible.''
Salerno was expected to meet with department directors on Friday. Sources told the Herald those discussions would focus on possible job cuts and could include part-time workers in the building and zoning department that grew during the construction boom.
Mayor Don Slesnick said he knew the recession would trickle down to cities.
''I'm a citizen of Coral Gables as well as the mayor and I don't want to see our city government cut back. I don't want to see services cut. I hate to see anyone lose their jobs,'' Slesnick said. ``But I can't produce money and can't wail that there are a lack of funds we should have had. I can only help the manager devise ways to address it and support that.''
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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