Corona, CA: Contract called temporary fix

A new contract for Corona firefighters won't save anywhere close to the $3.5 million estimated by city staff, a former mayor said.

Jeff Bennett, who served on the City Council from 1992 to 2004, said the contract on tonight's council consent agenda would cut ongoing spending by "maybe $300 grand."

It defers pay raises promised for 2012 and 2013 until 2014 and cuts fire captains' pay by 2.5 percent. It also suspends allowances for uniforms and flexible spending accounts, reduces paid holiday hours for some firefighters. Firefighters also will take 52 hours per year of unpaid furlough time.

Capt. Jim Steiner, president of the Corona Firefighters Association, said last week that the union negotiated the cuts because it is aware that city revenues are down. The union had previously deferred raises and now will go four years without them.

Current Councilman Steve Nolan agrees with Bennett about the need to cut ongoing expenses but commended firefighters for the tentative agreement. He said it buys the city time to either increase revenue or decrease other costs.

The city cut 114 positions in 2008 and laid off 56 more in the past year, Nolan said.

Bennett said Corona's looming budget deficit could total as much as $14 million. He projects years of plummeting property tax revenue because many homeowners are underwater on their mortgages.

Nolan said staff hasn't given the council a firm projection of the deficit but he expects it will grow. He said the council should consider the budget more often than twice a year, which is usual for cities in normal times.

"We should be discussing it twice a month," Nolan said.

Nolan said he would pull the contract off the council's consent agenda to discuss it before a vote. The consent calendar, a collection of items the city considers routine, is usually voted upon without discussion. Any council member or member of the public can ask that an item be discussed and voted upon separately.

The council will meet at 6:30 tonight in City Hall, 400 S. Vicentia Ave., Corona. The full agenda, including the firefighters' contract, is available online at http://discovercorona.com and clicking on City Council on the horizontal bar near the top.