Public Works suffers deep cuts

Jenny Marder

The budgetary ax swung wide and with little mercy across all city

departments, leaving many casualties in its wake. But none suffered

losses like the Public Works Department.

Of 37 city employees who are losing their jobs, 25 are in the

Public Works Department, which was required to cut 15%, $2.7 million,

from its 2003-03 operating budget.

“I prepared the best combination of cuts that would get me to the

15%, selecting from equally unpleasant alternatives,” said Robert

Beardsley, director of Public Works.

The department had to significantly scale back upkeep of the

city’s parks and trees, building maintenance operations and street

repairs. Engineering, water and wastewater operations all bring in

revenue and were therefore not affected as severely.

City Administrator Ray Silver said that Public Works was hit

harder than other departments because it relies so much on the

general fund.

When making decisions about this year’s budget, Silver said

programs were separated into different categories. The most

fundamental, or “core services,” such as street maintenance, sewer

services, water services, police patrol and fire suppression, were

too vital to the city’s safety and upkeep to be sacrificed. Some

services, such as the senior outreach center, the building department

and many community services programs, were spared because they paid

for themselves.

“With things like that, if you cut the cost, you cut the revenue,”

Silver said.

Some, like the library, were saved by volunteer sister

organizations. Many programs the city had no choice to maintain

because they are required by state or federal law to do so.

“After police and fire, [public works] was the largest general

fund department,” Silver said. “We really got down to only a few

choices.”

City Councilman Dave Sullivan, who closely examined all of the

budget reductions, called Silver’s recommendations “the best of the

worst.”

“I really didn’t find anything in there that I could substitute,”

Sullivan said. “There’s not any fat left, so you’re really talking

about muscle and bone. It really got down to what services were the

most essential.”

Public Works is separated into four divisions: administration,

engineering, maintenance and park, tree and landscape.

Reduced services include pest control and herbicide application,

concrete maintenance, street maintenance and carpentry, painting,

electricity and masonry programs.

People will notice the changes as time goes by, Beardsley said.

Some will be more visible than others.

City parks, for example will look less manicured than they have in

the past, and weeds will begin to grow more readily along roadside

channels, he said. Workers no longer pick up clippings after mowing

the grass, tree trimming cycles have been extended and sidewalk

cracks will be patched up instead of repaired. Residents, Beardsley

said, may also notice a longer turnaround time for responses to their

complaints.

Safety hazards will still be repaired as needed with money set

aside for emergencies, Beardsley said.

“We’re trying to keep the safety aspect intact, while deferring

funds,” he said.

While the cuts are difficult, Beardsley said that he is not doing

any of it begrudgingly. He has now turned his focus to keeping up

with the demands of the department with reduced staffing.

“This is the best of a bad situation,” Beardsley said. “I think

we’ve demonstrated that we’re keeping things going and will continue

to do our best.”

The hardest part of the cuts, he said, is firing people for

economic reasons rather than performance issues.

“We’re dealing with the livelihood of people who are very strong

performers,” Beardsley said. “These people have felt that what

they’ve done is important and beneficial to the city. All of a sudden

they’ve been told that it’s not necessary. It’s hard to explain to an

employee that it was important, but that we’re cutting it anyway.

“It’s a really difficult, emotionally charged situation and it’s

very sad,” he said.

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@latimes.com.