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City Manager's 2004 Budget Recommendations C. Try Volunjga Deductions First, When we talked about the budget this April, the Finance Director and recommended some alternatives. Rather than layoffs, we recommended some early - retirement and other incentive programs to reduce our staff. According to Paul Kirkwold, Ramsey county Manager, Ramsey County has had great success with its early - retirement program as a way of deal- ing with their budget crisis brought on by the state's funding cuts. To summarize those April recommendations from the Finance Director and myself, for thirty to sixty days allow city employees to consider earl retirement and voluntary resignation programs in lieu of layoffs. Yes, those voluntary programs cost some money to implement. It is also true that those kinds of incentive programs may produce a disproportionate loss of experienced staff whose departure may temporaril y hurt produc- tivity. Additionally, stuff departures under those binds of voluntary re- duction programs may not be as strategic as layoffs. olunt ary programs depend on staff stepping forward to tale advantage of those rains • ro p g thus, the gaps in our staffing under a voluntary program would be based on an employee's personal circumstances and choice rather than on our evaluation of the tax cost or public participation or public par- ticular act of p titular clt programs. That said, such voluntary incentive programs do spare good ees ern to p y from being laid off and they build substantial operating savings over the long run as vacated city positions are not filled. Attached for your review is our April 7th Request for Council Action de- scribing these voluntary incentives t Hence, you could choose to follows first, those earlier recommendations and see what kind of savings we can achieve on a voluntary basis. Then you would still have time later this year to re- evaluate the budget situa- tion and male other budget cuts, if necessary. 6I` I In light of the assumptions and principles and reasons and alternatives set forth above, I recommend cutting the city's operating budget b g ap- proximately $350,000 for 2004. Some members of the Community will undoubtedly and justifiably appose some of the specific recommenda- tions in this Report. Former city councils would not have authorized alf of these programs and services in the first place if these elected represen- tatives of the people didn't think current programs and services respond 15