Winnemucca News

Winnemucca News

City employees agree to forgo pay increases - 06-24-2010

WINNEMUCCA — City employees have agreed to forgo pay increases for the next 12 months following recent negotiations between their representatives and city officials. There will be no longevity, merit or cost of living increases for employees or department heads.

Pointing to budgetary constraints in a tough economy, City Manager Steve West said the city is trying to reduce its operational costs, nearly 80 percent of which are salaries and benefits.

In a long-term attempt to reduce the budget, the city has eliminated three positions through attrition and last year laid off two employees.

The city is taking other steps in an effort to reduce costs, such as buying smaller, more economical vehicles – when possible.

In addition, city representatives are attempting to reduce energy costs.

For example, they obtained $759,000 through the Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant, which will be used to replace the old, energy inefficient traffic lights, sports-field lighting, and the old carriage lights all over town.

While the Winnemucca City Council hasn’t decided on the exact fixtures as of yet, replacing those old lights could reduce the cost of lighting the city from $40,000/yr to $10,000/yr.

West explained the city’s revenue has simply not kept up with rising costs. If there isn’t a turn around in the economy, residents may see cutbacks in services in future years.

West noted the city is actually in better shape than most. He said, “We could see this coming and have been conservative; we’ve put money aside for this occurrence.”

Written by Dee Holzel - Silver Pinyon Journal - 6/24/10

• Winnemucca News