Elgin hopefuls differ on layoffs

Hopefuls for the 2-year Elgin City Council seat differ on whether the city's elimination of 16 employees last fall as part of a cost-cutting measure was the right way to deal with the sagging economy.

"I don't agree with the layoffs at all," said Mike Robins, who suggested the city could have offered workers furlough days instead. "You didn't see any council members take a cut in their pay, or the department heads, or the mayor."

Robins is one of six people seeking to fill the two-year council seat that will complete the term of Mike Powers, who resigned last year.

Other candidates are: Al Fernandez, Emi Morales, Brenda Rodgers, Charlene Sligting and Mike Warren.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, voters will eliminate two people from the field and the remaining four will square off on April 7. Ten more candidates in April will vie for three 4-year seats.

City Manager Femi Folarin said officials considered salary cuts, unpaid furlough days and other measures before opting for layoffs.

He also noted some of the jobs cut were growth-based; as westward growth ceased, so did the need for those positions.

"All those things were taken into consideration. The layoffs were just the beginning," Folarin said.

In all, 54 positions are going to be eliminated by next year through layoffs, early retirement, not filling vacant spots and reassignments.

Sligting said the city was forced to make cuts as part of its 5-year financial plan. She also said the city could spend money more wisely, noting $2.2 million was spent last year in overtime for firefighters.

"You could take that money, hire 11 full-time firefighters and still save $500,000," she said. "So we need to look at ways to use the resources that we already have and allocate them better."

Warren believes the city was smart to cut jobs now instead of waiting until later when they would cause deficits. He says the city needs to attract more businesses and make it easier to come to Elgin.

"Every company is doing more with less and we need to make sure the city does the same thing," Warren said.

Fernandez said the layoffs may have been necessary but does not believe city workers were consulted enough to help find ways to cut costs.

"Tap into that right there. It's not the department heads that are out doing the job. It's the street-level guys," he said.

Rodgers said she does not support the layoffs, either. She said some key positions were eliminated and believes employees would have opted for furlough days to save their co-workers' jobs.

"Our city staff is stretched. A lot of the guys are working overtime. Our residents deserve and should have quality service," she said.

Morales said the city needs to reach out more to residents and suggested that town meetings be held to talk about the budget. She said positions should have been evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

"We need to become more proactive, not just approving numbers that fit in the city manager's budget," she said.

Elgin Mayor Ed Schock said salary reductions and furlough days would have had to be approved by city unions. He also hinted that if the economy worsens, more cost cutting may be needed.

"There would have to be a lot of furlough days to equal $5 million (in salary savings)," he said. "We also wanted to make sure we erred on the side of making sufficient reductions. We're hopeful we cut deep enough. Who knows?"

Candidates: Schock warns more cost cuts may be needed

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