WARREN - Another meeting has been set to discuss fixing the city budget, and layoffs are expected to be part of that conversation.
Council Finance Committee Chairman Al Novak, D-2nd Ward, said the committee was calling the city administration, union officials and municipal judges back to the table at 3 p.m. Thursday. At a meeting Tuesday the mayor presented a list of about 20 short-and-long-term ideas to both save and generate money.
Mayor Michael J. O'Brien's plan did not call for layoffs, but he acknowledged before that they could be a possibility. Novak said council members need to talk about layoffs even though they cannot initiate them.
"Basically, that's what some council members are saying. We want to have some serious and straightforward discussions on what will be getting us through the rest of the year," he said.
Novak said council members were questioning whether the mayor's recent plan ranging from overtime bans to drilling for oil would be enough to keep the budget from running a deficit by the end of the year. Auditor David Griffing said earlier this month that if Warren kept spending the way it was, the budget would run dry in November. He projected a budget deficit of about $1.75 million.
"We need to face the wolf. He's not at the door, he's sitting in the living room and he's in daddy's chair," Novak said.
Council members Dan Crouse, I-at Large, and Helen Rucker, D-at Large, have called for layoffs before, but Griffing said it may be too late in the year for that to help.
"If we go into state receivership, they'll make the cuts and we don't want to see that happen," Novak said.
Councilman Bob Dean, D-at Large, said he'll discuss layoffs but not for safety forces. A member of the police and fire committee, Dean said safety forces have had an increase in calls this year.
"At some point we'll be looking at the hard subject of layoffs," Dean said, commenting that he did not think the mayor's plan could make up the $1.75 million deficit. "I want no layoffs for police departments and fire personnel, period."
Dean wanted to discuss some ideas to help save and generate money. He proposed a tax on alcohol and cigarettes, which he claims would generate $2 million to the city. Long-term, he supports creating an economic development group and bringing a veteran's nursing home to the area.