By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
One firefighter and three members of the police department in Chehalis will be laid off under a plan the city announced today it’s proceeding with to maintain the fiscal viability of the city.
Revenues are much lower than budgeted for, primarily because the largest source, the sales and use tax, has continued to drop from even last year’s low numbers, according to Chehalis City Manager Merlin MacReynold.
The job cuts are among 15 positions identified for possible layoff, all union-represented workers, according to the announcement.
The budget cut discussions prompted a news release last night from Local 2510, Chehalis Professional Firefighters.
“This reduction in force at the fire department could certainly have disastrous repercussions to our citizens and the firefighters serving them,” the leaders of Local 2510 wrote. “There are other ways to reduce expenditures and increase revenues without lying (sp) off a firefighter/EMT”
Fire Capt. Casey Beck, president of group, said the voters last year authorized a six-year EMS levy in which up to 50 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value could be collected, but the city council last year voted to take only 36 cents.
The firefighters propose collecting the full amount next year, a move which would generate an additional $80,000, something that would more than save the one firefighter position, according to Beck.
The Chehalis Police Department is targeted to lose a community services officer, an administrative assistant and a records technician.
Fifty-one union employees in the city today received 60-day notices they may be laid off, according to a letter the city manager distributed to all employees of the city.
The number of notices is high because exactly which people’s jobs get cut depend upon bumping rights and seniority status outlined in labor contracts, according to MacReynold.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter