Batavia plans to restore some pay cuts

City of Batavia employees could get back some of the pay cuts made in 2010 in next year's budget.

The proposed budget calls for restoring 75 percent of what an employee lost.

“They are still not making what they were in 2009,” city administrator Bill McGrath told the city council's government services committee Wednesday.

Since mid-2009, about 26 positions have been eliminated, by laying off some employees, enticing others to retire early and through hiring freezes.

Those people remaining “have been knocking themselves out” to provide service, he said.

“The people that are working have to be fairly paid,” McGrath said.

The restoration would come in different ways for different groups of employees, depending on whether they are salaried or hourly workers, union or nonunion. Hourly nonunion workers had taken 5 percent pay cuts in the form of lesser hours, salaried personnel had paychecks reduced 10 percent, and some unionized groups took reductions in benefits such as uniform allowances or in the amount of overtime and holiday shifts.

The city expects to run a smaller deficit in 2011 than it did in 2010.

Some purchases delayed from 2010 including the purchase of new police squad cars have been included.

Committee members asked few questions at the meeting; aldermen had been urged to ask questions in advance, with answers posted on the city's website.

Among the changes: The Batavia Police Department's narcotics investigation officer position is eliminated, with the officer being reassigned to the patrol division. The city also expects to pay $80,000 more to Tri-City Ambulance service, if the St. Charles and Countryside Fire Protection District pulls out of the cooperative, as it has announced it intends to.

The draft published last week called for $87.1 million in spending, but that included the possibility of the city helping to build a parking garage as part of a proposed development that would have included a Batavia Park District recreation center and stores. Park district voters rejected the plan Nov. 2. So the city has since removed the parking, estimated at $6 million.

Other small changes continue to be made to the budget, and bigger ones could be made as the city gets closer to finalizing new contracts with several of its employee unions.

There is a public hearing on the budget at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15; the committee will vote on the budget Nov. 29; and the city council likely will vote on it Dec. 6.