City cost cutting includes unpaid days off for workers

The City of Winnipeg will spend $25 million more in 2014 than it did in 2013, but its proposed budget tabled Friday also boasts of some belt-tightening.

Officials say the proposed operating budget will chop $20.6 million in spending through a number of measures, including one which will prove very controversial: forcing city employees to take 3.5 unpaid days off over the Christmas holidays in 2014. Making that happen will require some tough negotiations with CUPE, the union representing city workers. If it goes ahead, the unpaid leave will save the city $1.5 million.

Other cost-cutting measures proposed for the 2014 budget include:

• Reducing management and public service positions in the Winnipeg Association of Public Service Officers (including exempt positions), for annualized savings of $2 million
• Conducting Alternative Service Delivery review to find more efficient ways to deliver City services, for budgeted savings of $2.4 million
• Managing vacant jobs within the City, for savings of $14.1 million
• Reducing Councillors’ Representation Allowances by $37,000 per ward, for savings of $555,000

The city claims without the cost savings achieved by these cuts, the proposed property tax increase would be 6.45% rather than the 2.95 per cent included in Friday’s budget.