Just wanted to say thank you to your paper and your staff for
the recent stories and articles on the layoff of the employees of
the City of Hollister. It was greatly appreciated. If you would
please print my remarks from the meeting held Jan. 28.
Good evening City Council members, mayor, city manager: I am not
here tonight to point fingers or place blame. Nor am I speaking
here tonight to further my political career or boost my ego, but
rather to ask you not to sign the proposed RIF resolution as it is
now written.
Just wanted to say thank you to your paper and your staff for the recent stories and articles on the layoff of the employees of the City of Hollister. It was greatly appreciated. If you would please print my remarks from the meeting held Jan. 28.
Good evening City Council members, mayor, city manager: I am not here tonight to point fingers or place blame. Nor am I speaking here tonight to further my political career or boost my ego, but rather to ask you not to sign the proposed RIF resolution as it is now written.
There are other options to be considered and I believe a more realistic resolution needs to be drafted. A resolution that takes into account the various circumstances that could have a great impact on the city’s financial situation.
Things such as the state of California’s effect on our budget, the recovery of the economy, implementation of some of the many employees’ cost saving ideas and closer examination of what impact such a layoff will have on the services to the community of Hollister.
I have been researching options other cities are using to avoid laying off staff and with the help of Sharon Williams, HR manager at the City of Morgan Hill, now have some ideas to present to you.
At the bottom of the paper she gave me, you will see a handwritten note, which I think will provide food for thought. She writes that they are working in tandem with the employees and that the city manager is accepting and exploring ideas for cost cutting. Other main ideas include staff rotation, reduced services to the public, no pay increases for the fiscal year and they are seeking alternative health care programs. The City of Morgan Hill has a population of 33,000 and is also a union shop. Her name and phone number are listed at the bottom in case you would like to call her and discuss these or other ideas.
I would like to move on to the list you were provided. It did not tell you who was to be laid off, just job titles. These titles do not really tell you what services these employees provide to our city. The people to be affected include people like Tim Burns, our code enforcement officer; Barbara Vance, in charge of the utility billing system; and Christine Black, support for the fire department. The list goes on and on.
Not only will the city lose a valuable employee, but it will lose much more. This loss will haunt the City of Hollister for many years to come. We will all lose out on a wealth of knowledge that is stored in the work experience of these individuals. More than that, we lose our sense of family and togetherness.
In the six years I have had the opportunity to serve the community of Hollister, I have had the rare chance to be a part of a larger group – a family away from home if you will. We have watched our children grow and celebrated life’s ups and downs together. Leaving my city family will be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do and a part of me will never be the same.
There is talk of some people being able to bump other jobs, but the reality is that there will still be many of us without jobs, leaving a city without people to support its services.
I strongly urge the City Council to do the right thing – to say NO to this resolution. Let us all sit down and work out a more rational resolution that is proactive and not reactive
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to my supervisor, Barbara Mulholland, and all my co-workers in the finance department for all their support, encouragement and friendship. It means more than they will ever know.
Also thank you to the City Council members that gave me the chance to voice my thoughts to them. It was greatly appreciated. Please take a moment to consider the impact of this resolution and make the right choice by voting no. Please do not make a decision with inadequate information. This is exactly how the city got into this mess in the first place. You have an opportunity to make a change in the pattern of our city’s history. Please don’t make this yet another mistake that will be with us for years to come.
Wendi Reed,
Hollister
