While the city of Española is feeling a bit of financial relief thanks to steadily increasing Gross Receipts Tax income, city employees are waiting to hear if they’ll be going another year without a raise.
City Information Services Manager Joaquin Maestas is also the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1188. The union represents all city employees except police officers, firefighters and department heads. Police and firefighters have their own unions.
At an April 30 budget review session, Maestas addressed the council after Public Safety and Fire Department budgets were presented. Both requested more money for current employees and extra positions. The council showed strong support for the two departments.
“I think public safety is the most important aspect of this community,” Councilor Peggy Sue Martinez said.
“Everybody knows that this community is in desperate need of public safety officers,” Councilor Dennis Tim Salazar said.
Maestas didn’t disagree that public safety is important but other city employees are important, too, he said.
“When you’re talking about paying homage to people, those people are in our union and they are not being represented in this budget,” Maestas said. “We’d all love a little more in our paycheck, but it’s only fair to spread it out to everyone.”
Outside of the meeting, Maestas talked about how the city had over 200 employees just four years ago and is now down to about 120.
“What concerns me is that most of those employees have come from our side,” Maestas said. “Public Safety, Fire and Police have only been affected minimally in those cuts and as we move on, we continue to have to work in a safe manner and we have very understaffed departments.”
The city hasn’t given employees a raise in five years. Last year, employees got a one-time bonus check for cost of living. Most city employees are doing more work for the same pay, Maestas said.
“If we’re gonna starve together, we should also eat together. That’s what family does,” he said. “To give more to one department before you’ve made sure everyone has had enough isn’t fair.”
While the union would not argue against raises, stability is most important to city employees, Maestas said.
“Surely we want raises, but only if they’re fiscally prudent,” he said. “What we wouldn’t want is a raise this year followed by furloughs.”
In 2011, all city employees were required to take 12 furlough days, which saved the city $368,308—just barely enough to close the $372,120 gap between planned expenditures and revenues
At the meeting, Finance Director Joyce Sandoval was asked to calculate how much money it would cost the city to give employees a 1-percent to 2.5-percent raise, which should be presented at the next budget review session.
The city is also facing a 15-percent increase to the cost of employee medical insurance. Maestas said that if the city does give employees a raise, most of it will be absorbed by increased insurance premiums. Still, he said, the extra money would go a long way.
“I know people who work very hard for what little they get and at the end of the day for them to survive in this economy with the cost of living continuing to rise, they need it,” Maestas said.