County Executive Mike Sanders is calling for huge layoffs for Jackson County. The move is a desperate attempt to balance the County's budget but it's also going to make things VERY interesting when it comes to disgruntled employees and all the dirt they have accumulated.
Jackson County will announce “significant” employee layoffs today to help balance the budget by year’s end, County Executive Mike Sanders said.Let's not forget that employees who were previously given the boot went straight to the media in order to bad mouth Sanders. Firing people is never pleasant and in Kansas City the smell of blood travels pretty far . . . So, while the move to get Jackson County back in the black is welcomed . . . Undoubtedly, there is going to be a political price to pay and I'm really curious as to what kind of juicy gossip this decision will evoke.
In addition, the county will have to borrow money to get through 2007, he said in an interview.
Sanders declined to say how many people would be laid off until he meets with the County Legislature this afternoon. But he said the number would be higher than the 45 jobs cut at the start of the year . . . The county has about 1,850 employees and a total operating budget of $254 million. Roughly a third of that is the general fund — derived mostly from taxes and fees.
The county faces a shortfall of more than $7 million in that fund, which has resulted in the need for personnel cuts, Sanders said. Of general fund expenses, 73 percent goes to salaries and benefits.
When your bank account is out of money, chances are pretty good somebody in your household spent it. Sanders should be commended for not dwelling on who caused this problem, but getting busy fixing it. It's just too bad so many workers will have to pay such a high price for horrible management in the last administration.
ReplyDeleteAmen. I was never a fan of Sanders as prosecutor (or any prosecutor for that matter), but the guy is making the right moves for our community by balancing the budget for real, and not just asking for more money in taxes. T's right though, this is TOUGH (even if needed) medicine. If Sanders gets through this without takin a major hit in the media, he will have done what nobody locally has ever done.
ReplyDeleteSanders is like the second husband following a drunken gambling cheat. Its hard to look bad after Shields.
ReplyDeleteSanders is grabbing the bull by the horns and throwing it to the ground. Thats what we elected him to do.
ReplyDeleteReally? That's interesting because I could have sworn that the Executive Office holds over a million dollars worth of salaries; including a recent $110,000 hire.
ReplyDeleteYes, 7:47, you are right and the whole world is wronmg. The County is flush with millions of unused dollars in cash and this is all some huge conspiracy by the banks, outside auditors, and the government to say the County has run out of money. Yep, Shields didn't leave a hole, just ask her, she'll tell you she left 21 mil in the bank. Give me a break.
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