From Lehigh County– Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham today (8/17) announced that an additional 50 positions will be eliminated from the county workforce as the county continues to wrestle with lost revenues and tight budgets.“We have been working all year to have our cuts affect as few people as possible,” Cunningham said, “But there’s no way to avoid the fact that there will be some people affected through the reductions as we prepare our 2011 budget.”
Lehigh County has not realized any net growth in tax revenue since 2008 and revenue projections for 2011 remain the same. That has forced the county to reduce its operations and the size of its workforce, Cunningham said.
The current full time work force of 2,171 employees is less than the number of workers employed by Lehigh County in 1990. The reductions announced today will take the total number of county employees down to 2,122 or three-and-half percent below the 1990 level. In total, Cunningham’s Administration will have cut 150 positions during the last several years.
“We will be notifying affected employees and work groups this month,” Cunningham said. “These moves are being made as we prepare to present next year’s budget at the end of this month.”
Cunningham announced some of the higher level reductions today that will take place in the administration. Upon taking office in 2006, Cunningham restructured several departments to address specific needs in the county. Those changes included the job neutral creation of a capital projects manager to handle a large backlog of building and infrastructure needs in the county. It also included the restructuring of the Community and Economic Development Department to focus on downtown improvements in the boroughs and cities and the creation of across municipality partnerships in the county’s townships.
That restructuring included the job neutral creation of a regional partnerships manager and a main street manager.
The positions of capital projects manager and regional partnerships manager will be eliminated for the 2011 budget, Cunningham said. The job functions will be consolidated with other positions, just as the role of the public information director will be consolidated with other positions. The result is the elimination of three key administrative positions within the Administration.
“It’s important for any cutbacks to affect the front office and the administration the same that it does operating departments and line functions,” Cunningham said. “It’s also important to show that in government positions and programs can be created and then taken away when the need, and the funding, no longer exists.”
During the last five years, Lehigh County has built Coca Cola Park, renovated and expanded its Courthouse, upgraded and moved its 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center, re-built or repaired more than 20 bridges, relocated its Domestic Relations facility, started construction on a new Community Corrections Center and overhauled its Cedarbrook Nursing Homes for energy efficiency.
“We staffed up at a time when we needed to get the job done,” Cunningham said. “While we still have capital needs that remain, the workload is reduced. It’s important that staffing in government reflect the current needs of the operation.”
The Capital Plan for 2011-2015 that Cunningham presented last month is only $52.1 million, a more than 50 percent reduction from the average $120 million plan of the previous years. Only $1.8 million of that is expected to come from county general operating funds in 2011.
“Everyone thinks that government only ever gets bigger. That may be true in some cases but here in Lehigh County our staffing operations are smaller today than when we arrived five years ago. That’s a testament to our managers and our work force. The changes will not be easy but we will survive.”
Earlier this summer, Cunningham announced a freeze of the Green Future Funds for the future, which is used for the preservation of farmland, open space and the upgrade of parks. In addition, Cunningham announced a freeze on the purchase of any new vehicles with general county tax dollars.
“We will continue to announce proposed changes this month leading up to the release of the 2011 budget on Aug. 31,” Cunningham said.
And here comes that tax increase his apologists said we'd not get.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's the qustion. The real question is how high will that increase be. Both NC and LC were looking at 20% a few months ago. I know that both counties have worked hard to reduce that, and we'll see how well they do.
ReplyDeleteI am betting on 12%. It's a reality. I don't like it, but I understand it.
ReplyDeleteHeard the Conservation District, Extension and Parks and Recreation are three of the bigger cuts.
ReplyDeleteYou're slipping Bernie, how did you not spin the blame on your buddy Callahan?
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you and the rest of the political/officials goons stop dinning out at the diner so often during business hours , You have time to actually get something done.
ReplyDeleteWell at least Cunningham has made a tangible difference. In Northampton County we still have the on the sofa Stoffa Administration. As much as O'Hare likes to shine that turd it is still a dull brown smelly flop.
ReplyDeleteCunningham has made tough choices and has made a positive difference, if there is a tax hike it is necessary. Stoffa has accomplished nothing except working to dump the old folks at Gracedale and he still wants more tax money.
Maybe we could work a trade with Lehigh County, we get Cunningham and trade them a Stoffa, Harp and two other incompetent Stoffa administrators Administrators of their choice.
One Lehigh County employee who spends his/her time actually working for the county could keep a job if Cunningham would give up his full-time political operative, Frank Kane, with his taxpayer-financed salary, office and expense account.
ReplyDeleteis cunningham taking a cut/ of course not. that would show true leadership
ReplyDeleteEnough with the finger pointing and who should be cut or who shouldn't. Losing a job is a terrible experience private or public sector and should never be wished on anyone.
ReplyDeleteTo wish it on anyone takes a crap person. Watch out for Karma.
Whether one is employed at a government center or a retail store, is not relevant. I am sure somewhere a senator and a private corporate executive are laughing and saying, "Look at those idiots we have them killing each other while we are living the good life.
Most government employees make sure day to day essentials are carried through just as most private sector folks do. Neither group ever gets paid a Hell of a lot for their efforts.
Lets stop tearing each other down while the big money boys in Washington and Wall Street laugh at us.
Enough already, we are all in the same boat. Stop wishing crap on your neighbor because someone else crapped on you.
He blew a huge surplus and is about to kill taxpayers. The bodies he's throwing overboard should never have been hired. What a mess this guy is.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points anon 12:21..These tax cut idiots never really care about people losing their jobs and what that does to their families. A tax increase that would amount to $2.00 a week would not hurt anyone but might spare a number of jobs. All the attacks on Stoffa are ridiculous because he has not laid off personell and has done much through attrition. If that's not enough then the county has to look at an increase. Stoffa and Ferraro both supported a small increase last year but no one listened. Now we have a mess. All those County council people that did not support a small increase last year are also the blame for this mess. What's ironic is that a few were there at the Gracedale meeting talking about saving Gracedale. If they had passed an increase last year maybe we wouldn't be looking at selling it..
ReplyDeleteLots of blame to go around but Stoffa could say "I told you so" after warning about this last year..
Anon 10;07: are you suggesting thatthe purpose of taxes is to keep someone employed?
ReplyDelete10:07 reads like someone who couldn't and/or can't hold a job in the private sector where accountability weeds out lazy goldbricks. The private sector has already experienced a downsizing bloodbath. Now, it's unemployed or underemployed and trying to figure out how to pay higher taxes so government types (who retire almost ten years earlier than the private sector, on average) may keep their jobs. Sorry. They're about to become acquainted with the real world in its third year of grinding recession. And no, I don't revel in your misery. It's awful. I've been there and I'm now struggling to pay my taxes and keep my house. That's why I'm relieved to see the government cutting its budgets instead of looking for more of mine.
ReplyDeleteGet a job 1:16. Then you can pay your taxes..It's the school taxes that are killing everyone not the County and city..If someone tells me they cant find a few dollars a month extra for county taxes I'd say they need to dump the booze, casino, and cigarettes and get real already!!! Freaking Tea party idiots are insane!!!
ReplyDelete4:37 needs to be reminded who its boss is. And the boss is about to fire a whole bunch of long dead wood that nobody can afford. The only problem is the cuts need to go much, much deeper. Enjoy your 99. It's kind of like the nothing you do all day now, just not as lucrative. No more free ride for you. Enjoy your change.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:08, you are one miserable creature. Christ, you must alone in a hole cause who would want to live with you.
ReplyDeleteGood people lose jobs in the private sector every day. Are you saying that the "private Sector" never lays-off "good people or good workers"? Who crapped on your head?
I work in the private sector and the owners nephew was just appointed vice-president. A guy who was here for twenty years and a proven performer was retired. Reason(real) made made too much money and now that the accounts are in place, out the door. "Accountability weeds out lazy goldbricks", are you sucking that bullshit right from the tit? You should have Tony Iannelli's job, I didn't think anyone could out bullshit him while kissing corporate ass but I think you are the winner.
Horatio Alger