Rebecca Vasquez is in her 10th year working as a water services technician for the city of Phoenix’s Water Services Department. She and co-workers in her yard read meters and provide other maintenance services in downtown Phoenix to ensure that water gets to homes and businesses efficiently.
When Vasquez heard that the city of Phoenix was facing a $26 million to $52 million budget deficit, she couldn’t believe it. The first question on her mind was, “Are they going to cut our pay?”
Last month, her water bill went up. She and her three children tightened their budget.
“I hate to say it but, honestly, we live paycheck to paycheck,” Vasquez said.
She said she worries about added expenses to her regular bills, like trips to the doctor’s office, which she avoids unless absolutely necessary. Still, two of her children wear eyeglasses, and one has a monthly medical prescription.
Tucked into Vasquez’s water bill, as well as the water bills of all Phoenix residents, was a flyer titled “Phoenix @ Your Service”. It was a newsletter distributed by the city to review last year’s achievements, including a headline that read “City finances remain strong.”
Luis Schmidt, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2384 union chapter, which Vasquez is a member of, said the city is not being transparent with workers. He wants the union and the city to be able to work together and come up with alternate solutions to deal with the deficit besides pay cuts and staff reductions.
In 2008, AFSCME’s negotiations with the city ended in a mutual agreement to cut funds from areas such as salary, deferred compensation and workers’ compensation, Schmidt said. The deal was made in the midst of the economic recession. Kevin Brown, AFSCME regional communications coordinator for the Western Region, said the expectation was that the funds cut would be restored in two years.
“We recognized that there was a downturn in the economy,” Brown said. “And at the negotiating table we thought it was the right thing to do to make sacrifices.”
Vasquez said the lack of funding for public services goes beyond her personal paycheck — she feels it in her work every day.
One year, she said, the city decided to purchase cheaper gloves for meter readers. But the cheap gloves tended to rip, so staff doubled-up on them.
Vasquez said over the years she has seen quality reduction in the items she uses each day, but does not feel that the cheaper tools are worth the savings. And due to staffing cuts, Vasquez said she is expected to complete a heavier workload than before with those tools.
Acting City Manager Ed Zuercher implied in the past that the staff reductions made in the past were an achievement, citing technological advancements as a reason for some cuts that “led to higher levels of efficiency in a way that did not harm the department.”
And in 2013, the city hired 11 new police officers, the first new employees since the hiring freeze in 2008, according to a statement by Councilman Daniel Valenzuela.
However, the Zero-Based Inventory of Programs Budget, which will be presented to the Phoenix City Council on Tuesday, states one of the challenges for the police department in the next fiscal year will be “maintaining critical police services in the coming year with fewer sworn personnel.”
Schmidt said the union is worried about staffing reductions in emergency departments, creating a future where 911 dispatchers must put calls on hold. He said the union will propose alternative solutions to the budget deficit, such as implementing workers’ suggestions more often.
The city does give out employee suggestion awards that highlight creative solutions staff have thought of to reduce costs of materials. The city also has a Constant Staffing Program to keep staffing levels adequate for emergency response teams.
Toni Maccarone, public information director for the city of Phoenix, said the city encourages community members to give feedback on the budget draft, which she said will be released around March 25 this year. Public hearings will be held in April and people can also email in their comments and concerns, she said.
“We are all working to solve the budget deficit, but we’re just at the beginning of the process,” she said.
Therefore, the city cannot yet verify what will be cut to balance the budget and how public workers will be affected. The Zero-Based Inventory of Programs Budget does outline a preliminary salary estimate for the 2014-2015 fiscal year (shown in the graph on the right).
It is unclear how individual departments such as Water Services will be affected by the official budget in May, but Vasquez is still worried because she does not have many alternate employment options.
“I feel like I’m stuck,” she said. “If the city decides to take money from us again, what choice do we have but to accept it?”
Contact the reporter at ascline1@asu.edu.
