Thursday, October 11, 2007
How Many Jobs Has the County Actually Cut?
Faced with the prospect of having to approve new taxes to fund mass transit, some members of County Council are holding firm and insisting on cuts to County spending. The administration has fired back at those members, noting that declines in personnel have exceeded the declines in County population, so the calls for cuts or restraint on spending are unfounded.
Perhaps those members were interested in cutting things other than personnel, but that’s the line the Administration took and ran with.
The Executive’s spokesman noted that “there was a decline of 22 percent in county government employees while the population decreased by 9 percent” since 1995. This is close to 1,500 jobs. But it fails to take into account two very important points. First, in 1999 the County’s Aviation Division and its 500 employees were transferred to the newly-created Airport Authority. Second, there have been substantial declines in the Kane Hospitals owing to the need to align capacity and costs with other nursing homes.
Perhaps those members were interested in cutting things other than personnel, but that’s the line the Administration took and ran with.
The Executive’s spokesman noted that “there was a decline of 22 percent in county government employees while the population decreased by 9 percent” since 1995. This is close to 1,500 jobs. But it fails to take into account two very important points. First, in 1999 the County’s Aviation Division and its 500 employees were transferred to the newly-created Airport Authority. Second, there have been substantial declines in the Kane Hospitals owing to the need to align capacity and costs with other nursing homes.
