City Government
City Staff Reduced, Management Seeks More Efficiency
March 6, 2012 
The GUARDIAN got a tip late last week claiming there were layoffs at City Gall.
We sent a query to Team Dave and spokesman Adam Park provided the following statement:
“In 2012 the City has laid off one employee and restructured one position following the retirement of another employee. Both of these actions were done to contain costs and ensure a balanced budget. These employees’ responsibilities have been reassigned; no city services have been cut as a result of their departure. As you are undoubtedly aware, layoffs are personnel matters and therefore the names of the parties are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Idaho’s public records laws. Department directors continue to explore ways to run their operations more efficiently, but no decision has been made on any additional layoffs.”
We have asked from which departments the two cuts were made.
If they cut staff that wasn’t needed, the GUARDIAN certainly applauds the move. Coppers previously avoided layoffs when they decided to forgo a contracted raise, but at this point it isn’t clear what departments–if any face additional cutbacks.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Mar 6, 2012, 7:12 pm
Pardon me if I’m underwhelmed by cutting 2 positions in a bureaucracy of hundreds.
Mar 6, 2012, 8:27 pm
Two people cut does not begin to put a dent in the Boise City payroll. A 10% cut in the force makes for something of note.
Mar 6, 2012, 9:12 pm
They probably weren’t wasteful and inefficient enough to fit it properly.
Mar 6, 2012, 11:21 pm
While I appreciate this cost cutting measure, it pales in comparison to other government branches in recent years. According to older Boise Weekly article, Boise did cut their budget for 2012(for the first time) but it looks to be skyrocketing back up in 2013.
“In total the proposed spending plan for FY 2012 tops $330 million (approximately $14 million less than FY 2011), but it jumps to $350 million in FY 2013.”
At least the schools ask approval of the voters when they need more money.
Mar 8, 2012, 5:55 am
After previously being critical of Dave Bieter and the city of Boise spending practices, I have come to my senses and realized that those in charge down at city hall really do in fact know what they’re doing. One only has to drive by the airport to be re-educated and re-inspired by the beautiful “artwork” hanging off the parking garage which the city paid handsomely for. Or is that just some rebar that popped loose?
Mar 10, 2012, 4:56 pm
To clarify, the BPD did not forgo their raise. They simply agreed to collect later. They will still get the raise – including a retroactive component, constraining the personnel budget even more in the future. As for layoffs, a question not asked here is how many positions have gone unfillled when the incumbent leaves. There are lots of those. Also, I would caution other readers to consider that for many government functions, a downturn in the economny does not mean a downturn in the workload. A private sector carpenter might have less work these days, but there aren’t fewer street lights to maintain.
EDITOR NOTE–We bought new LED lights and we contract to run that system, but we still understand your message.