167 City of Tacoma employees to get layoff warning

City of Tacoma department heads on Monday notified 167 city workers that their jobs are officially at risk due to $23 million in budget cuts expected by year’s end.

“What’s happening is that those employees whose positions are being identified as potential layoffs are getting notified in one-on-one meetings with either their supervisor or their department director,” city spokesman Rob McNair-Huff said. “… Those meetings are happening throughout the day (Monday).”

The latest layoff estimates include 47 fire department employees and 48 police employees, McNair-Huff said. The last estimate floated by the city had 165 employees facing pink slips – and a greater number, 52, were police positions.

The previous estimate was made before the city announced it would take retirement buyouts and before the City Council tentatively agreed to consider at least $1.3 million in “revenue enhancements.” Both measures were expected to help reduce the number of overall layoffs.

So what gives?

“Today’s numbers are the best estimates we have up to the minute,” McNair-Huff said. “These numbers are not as concrete as we’d like, but there are a lot of mitigating factors still going on, which make it difficult to say with certainty.”

And the numbers still could change, McNair-Huff added – right up to today’s unveiling of interim City Manager Rey Arellano’s detailed budget plan.

Arellano and his department heads are expected to reveal the full details of the proposed budget cuts to the council during its noon study session. Later, at the council’s regular meeting at 5 p.m., citizens will have a chance to weigh in on the budget proposal.

McNair-Huff said that as of Monday the city has received 43 buyout applications. The city is offering general-government workers who are eligible to retire a $12,000 lump-sum buyout to leave by Jan. 1.

Six Tacoma police veterans have told the city they will retire by the end of the year to take advantage of the buyouts, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. The number includes two of the department’s three assistant chiefs – Richard McCrea and Bob Sheehan.

Seven employees in the fire department also have requested buyouts – although that number could change since police and fire employees have until Dec. 15 to register their interest, McNair-Huff said.

Over the weekend, yellow leaflets warning of “major cuts to public safety,” including four potential fire station closures, were distributed to homes across Tacoma.

“Your neighborhood fire station will potentially be CLOSED under the budget proposed by the city manager of the City of Tacoma,” the fliers said.

The leaflets identify five fire stations as being considered for the four potential closures. They name Stations 4 (Hilltop), 6 (Downtown), 11 (McKinley), 13 (Proctor) and 15 (Southeast).

The fliers, which urge citizens to attend today’s council meeting, go on to say Arellano’s plan “will result in a historic decrease in fire and police protection provided to the citizens of Tacoma.”

Asked if the information on the fliers was accurate, McNair-Huff directed questions to Fire Chief Ron Stephens.

“The chief will talk about the full (fire department budget) proposal at noon (today), and I don’t want to pre-empt that,” McNair-Huff added. “I will say I haven’t heard about four stations closing.”

Fire department spokesman Joe Meineke said the fire chief wouldn’t discuss the specifics of budget cuts until today.

Lewis Kamb: 253-597-8542
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Staff writers Stacey Mulick and Kim Bradford contributed to this story.