SANTA FE SPRINGS : 23 Jobs Cut in Switch to Outside Maintenance

A divided City Council has decided to eliminate nearly two dozen maintenance jobs and switch to an outside company to save money.

Nine full-time maintenance workers and 14 part-time workers will lose their jobs Nov. 1. The city expects to save $500,000 by switching to a private firm to perform janitorial work and minor painting and carpentry for nearly 20 city buildings such as the library, City Hall and the aquatic center.

The city will keep about 30 maintenance workers who service the city’s water system, streets and a few buildings.

The job cuts were listed in a $29.6-million city budget that the council approved last week on a 3-2 vote. Mayor Al Sharp and council members Ronald S. Kernes and Betty Wilson approved the budget for the new fiscal year. Council members George Minnehan and Mercedes Diaz voted against it.

Sharp said the city needs the extra money to pay for street repairs. “A lot of these streets need to be torn up and completely reconstructed,” he said. “My responsibility is to provide services to the community.”

Minnehan argued that the cuts are unnecessary.

“Our budget is healthy and our income is healthy,” he said. “I just can’t see laying these people off and putting them on the welfare rolls.”