Staring down the governor’s proposed LGA cut of over $600,000 for 2010, the City of Brainerd is taking a tough look at what services and personnel the city can do without. The biggest cost savings in the city manager’s preliminary proposal is to cut six full-time firefighters in favor of transitioning the department from full-time to on-call.
The plan would affect personnel in other departments as well. In the police department, an officer vacancy will not be filled. In the parks department, the recreation coordinator and the recreation specialist would be laid off for six months of the year, as would four of the six maintenance workers. The street and sewer department would also leave a vacant position unfilled. The Brainerd Dispatch reports on further details of the budget plan.
In the coming weeks, cities across the state will be putting together similar preliminary budget plans showing that there are no easy targets left for cuts. Years of LGA cuts have forced cities to pare down their services and capital projects to the minimum. With few choices left, budget reductions will have a severe impact on personnel and ultimately prolong the state’s economic recession. The strength of your local economy—plus the state’s economy—depends on workers earning an income and supporting local businesses. Please contact your legislators and tell them that LGA funds the jobs that provide core services in your community, and that these jobs are critical to its ongoing economic health.