Buckeye lays off 39 workers, about 8 percent of staff

Buckeye laid off 39 employees Wednesday, nearly 8 percent of its staff, as a reaction to the town's looming budget crisis.

Based on the dive in revenues from the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal year, the town faced a projected shortfall of around $6.9 million.

An additional 26 vacant positions will not be filled as a part of the effort to reduce expenditures, according to town management.

The town's new finance director, Gail Reese, announced the plans the night before during a council workshop.

"It seemed the Buckeye government has been growing in the anticipation of growth rather than the reality of the growth we have," Reese said.

Reese told the council that since 2004, the town's personnel budget had increased by around 400 percent while the population had only grown by 150 percent.

"That seemed to be out of line," she said.

Although the Police and Fire departments account for nearly half of the town's budgeted positions and expenditures, Reese assured the council that no uniformed personnel from those departments would be affected by the cuts. Employees directly involved in water or wastewater services also avoided Wednesday's layoffs. All other departments were affected, she said.

Mayor Jackie Meck asked Reese if she could foresee any future cuts in personnel.

"I think we cut as much as we needed to," she said. "If we were to discuss additional cuts they'd have to be in public safety."

The reductions will save the town more than $3 million in personnel costs, and leaving the vacant jobs open will save an additional $1.3 million, according to Reese. Along with other, unspecified changes in operating costs, Reese estimated the town would go from a nearly $7 million shortfall to a $1 million surplus for the current fiscal year.

The changes mean the town will not have to dip into its $17 million reserves to cover its costs.

"The rainy day fund needs to be left for a rainier day than it is today," Reese said.

Employees who were laid off will get a severance package surpassing what town policy requires. They will receive five weeks of pay, accrued vacation time and health care through the end of this year.

Several council members were visibly distraught by the reduction in force.

"I'm angry and disappointed at the Town of Buckeye," said Councilman Robert Garza. "These are the people we relied on. . . . Now, as soon as the going gets tough, off with their heads."

The town's leadership should have seen a shortfall coming, he said.

"We could have been better prepared for this," Garza said. "This recession didn't happen last week."

Some council members said the town was doing what it needed to.

"This is a tough decision to make. This town can't operate in the red," said Vice Mayor Elaine May. "I'm sorry it has to be done."

Councilman Dave Rioux said the cuts were needed to keep the town afloat.

"There is never a right time, but we have to be fiscally responsible to the citizens of Buckeye. I feel we're losing a lot of really good people," Rioux said.

For many, these economic hard times are unprecedented, Meck said.

"I've never seen anything like this. . . . We did not, as a council or a town, put ourselves in this position," Meck said, referencing the nationwide meltdown.