DPW submits layoff plans
On Tuesday, the Department of Public Works submitted the first layoff plan in an effort to reduce the expenditures of the Government of Guam.
By KUAM NewsGuam - On Tuesday, the Department of Public Works submitted the first layoff plan in an effort to reduce the expenditures of the Government of Guam. With having to deliver over 38,000 students a day to addressing the numerous road repair projects on Guam, DPW has still had to substantially decrease its number of employees each year.
In the last fiscal year, DPW lost an overall 23 positions and today, recommended five more positions for reduction in force as part of Governor Eddie Calvo's issuance of Reduction in Force Advisory No.1. DPW director Joanne Brown says the positions are within the Capital Improvement Projects Division, including a chief planner, a planner II, an engineer supervisor and a pair of engineer II positions.
"Because overall in comparison to the other operations, not that there's not a lot of work, there's work overall, but in comparison to demands of the things that DPW has to deliver everyday it would have the least amount of impact of the overall operations of the department at this time," she said.
The advisory noted that the reduction in force of these positions doesn't mean he people holding them will necessarily be released. She adds the estimated savings costs for the five positions will save about $300,000. "With regards to 23 positions the department has lost in Fiscal Year 2011, which recently ended, that figure is over a half-million dollars. So you're talking within a matter of months, including the proposed positions that we're recommending, we're talking about almost $800,000 in further cuts to the department and personnel," said Brown.
Brown says it is not a desirable position to be in, but must be done in order to address the day-to-day challenges and rightsize the government - all of which aren't new realities. "We just went through the month of September with barely enough money to cover the most critical operations in our department and that was the school bus drivers," she explained. "We had to take money from other operations that are much smaller in the department just to make payroll."
"And we're challenged with it unless additional funds can be identified to pay for these positions, we have to find some sense of stability so that we can properly manage the department and its difficult to do that in a time when you don't have real definite understanding of information or really actual cash realities that you can manage the department with."
Brown currently has 308 employees. She says the recommendation of positions have been referred to the Department of Administration and will go through a retention register at DOA's Human Resources Division, a first to ever be run in GovGuam's history.
In the advisory, Acting Governor Ray Tenorio said the reduction in force signifies the tough decisions the government is making and added, "It is with deep regret the government must make these decisions to reduce personnel. This island, and the taxpayers owed their refunds, has not been able to sustain the size of government for 20 years now. I will not suffer the children of Guam, and their children, to a future bankrupted by the inability of leaders to make the right decisions."