(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

(http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7993244 | Original Link)

Disclaimer: THIS IS A REPOST FROM CHANNEL 13’s WEBSITE!! The above link is the original link

 

 

POSTED BY: Ted Oberg for ABC -Channel 13 Houston, TX

 

HOUSTON (KTRK) — A massive budget shortfall will soon hit the city hard, and that means cuts in departments across the board.

 

For the first time, the mayor has released numbers on how many workers the city may have to lay off to cover a budget shortfall.

It’s important to remember that we’re not just talking about people who are losing their livelihood, but likely services that will be cut on your block.

The chief of the police union says the Houston Police Department already has been cut to the bone, and cuts like this will cut into the marrow. There’s no way, he says, to avoid police service cuts.

The mayor’s office on Thursday said it’s looking at possibly laying off 2,300 city workers. That figure came from dividing a $130 million budget shortfall by the average city worker income of $55,000.

The mayor’s said departments could focus only on personnel, or make cuts from different salary ranges and programs.

“It’s up to them to figure out how to get there, but we have been having a series of intense budget workshops with council members,” Mayor Annise Parker said. “Council members have wanted to be much more part of this process, and I’ve been warning them that we couldn’t just prune the branches, we would actually cut off big limbs.”

The police, fire, solid waste and municipal courts would have to cut about 5 percent of its budget while the rest of the city would have to cut from 10 to nearly 28 percent of its spending.

The city’s police department already has made substantial cuts in its budget. Overtime this year was slashed. In fact, losing 75 officers on the streets has already happened.

They’ve already cut so many cadet classes at the academy that there’s no way new recruits next year will even keep up with retirements, meaning we’ll have fewer officers on the streets –even before these cuts.

The police union says it’s likely that civilian employees will lose their jobs at HPD first, but you’d have to fill their spots with officers, taking them out of the availability to answer 911 calls.

Even the police chief admits that they’re going to have to take a closer look at what they call core services. That’s what happens when you call 911 and say you need a police officer.

The chief said layoffs are certainly among the topics that need to be discussed.

And, you may remember, from January to June of this year, every city employee — other than police and fire — has to take one day a month furlough. In December, employees were asked to take voluntary unpaid days off. The furloughs are expected to save $5 million to $6 million dollars.

This is a dark day and a dark time for the city of Houston, and we’re continuing to look at what these cuts mean and what services it will affect.

Watch Eyewitness News this afternoon for the latest.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

(http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7993244 | Original Link)

Disclaimer: THIS IS A REPOST FROM CHANNEL 13’s WEBSITE!! The above link is the original link

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