Mayor Domenic Sarno said the budget cuts totaling $2.7 million caused layoffs and will cause less mowing, delayed vehicle maintenance and elimination of the bulk waste program
Left to right, Springfield School Committee member Antonette Pepe, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Springfield City Council President Jose Tosado.SPRINGFIELD – Two announced candidates for mayor, Jose F. Tosado and Antonette E. Pepe, have accused the incumbent, Domenic J. Sarno, of exaggerating the impact of recent budget cuts totaling $2.7 million.
Sarno, who is planning to seek re-election, said the cuts made by the City Council have triggered 10 new layoffs along with repercussions that will include many unmowed terraces, many unpaved roads, unkempt grounds at city buildings such as libraries, and elimination of the bulk waste program.
Tosado, who is council president, and Pepe, a member of the School Committee, said the cuts can be absorbed without the “doom and gloom” predictions.
“I can’t account for the mayor’s histrionics,” Tosado said this week. “It boggles my mind how the mayor can have this kind of reaction and try to incite the public for his own benefit.”
“The sky is not falling,” Pepe said in a prepared release. “Cuts made by the council should not have an adverse effect on city services or cause more layoffs.”
Sarno said last week that the council’s budget cuts June 22, were irresponsible and potentially damaging to the city. His original budget request of $544.9 million, which included $330.8 million for the School Department, already forced “painful decisions” including 13.5 layoffs, the elimination of 54.5 vacant positions, and a wage freeze and 12 unpaid furlough days for 350 non-bargaining employees, he said.
Sarno said the council’s additional cuts included $101,375 from the Police Department’s salary account, triggering a decision to lay off four police cadets. Councilors, however, said the cut was aimed at de-funding two vacant clerical positions.
Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said the clerical positions are needed, resulting in the cut cadets instead, according to Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Lee C. Erdmann.
Tosado said he does not understand the rationale for cutting the cadets rather than two vacancies. Tosado, in the aftermath of a tornado June 1, announced he was suspending his campaign until July 1, now resumed.
The council also cut all funding, approximately $240,000, for the CitiStat Department, resulting in three layoffs there. In addition, the council approved a 5 percent cut for all non-salary accounts for all city departments totaling $1.7 million.
Sarno said that many expenses are fixed, such as leases and energy costs, meaning the council’s cuts have a greater negative impact elsewhere.
Some of impacts will include: fewer cleanups of vacant properties and illegal dumping sites; no newly paved roads except for large state-funded projects; and hampered repairs of city vehicles and equipment, Sarno said.
Pepe said that eliminating unfilled employee positions “at this time is the fiscally responsible thing to do.” In addition, she raised concerns about the mayor’s proposal to use $10.5 million in reserve funds to balance the budget, which was rejected by the council.
“The City Council’s job is not to give Mr. Sarno a blank check but to do their due diligence,” Pepe said. “This is the tax payers money and they trust us to spend it judiciously.”
Tosado said each city department head “should have the wherewithal, the ability, to absorb these cuts and still be able to provide basic services.”
A $2.7 million cut for city departments is not extreme, Tosado said.
Tosado also criticized the mayor for accusing the council of committing a “slap in the face” to taxpayers by boosting the council salaries.
Tosado said it was Sarno who restored the council’s annual salary of $14,500, after the council voluntarily took a 10 percent cut for four years under difficult budget times. Sarno has argued the council could have kept its salary at $13,050, noting that he and non-bargaining employees have a wage freeze and furlough days.
Tosado said the mayor approved a 12 percent pay increase for the superintendent of schools, yet criticizes the council for returning to its former salary. Sarno has defended the superintendent’s raise as tied to his contract terms.