Dear Editor, Soon the City Council must decide how to overcome a
$2.2 million budget deficit. City staff has presented a Budget
Reduction Strategy that includes layoffs for 13 city employees. I
encourage council members and city staff to do whatever possible to
prevent these workers from losing their jobs.
It’s time for all city workers to make sacrifices to balance the budget
Dear Editor,
Soon the City Council must decide how to overcome a $2.2 million budget deficit. City staff has presented a Budget Reduction Strategy that includes layoffs for 13 city employees. I encourage council members and city staff to do whatever possible to prevent these workers from losing their jobs. Management has already been told that they will likely not get the usual 3 percent pay increase next fiscal year. This group is not protected either by union representation or contract, so this did not have to be negotiated. Are other employees willing to give up their pay increases? Have the three unions, including the Police Officers Association, offered to renegotiate their contracts? Why should only one group of employees take a hit while others do not?
Pay cuts, of course, would make an even bigger difference and save more jobs, perhaps all of them. Some management employees have actually offered to take a pay cut in order to prevent layoffs of their co-workers, but only if all other city employees would do the same. Are they willing to do so?
We all must make sacrifices in this difficult time, including our hard working city staff – from the top level on down. We all love Morgan Hill and must work together to solve this budget crisis.
Carol O’Hare, Morgan Hill
Time to stand up for parks
Dear Editor,
The budget reduction proposal for the parks in Morgan Hill suggests reducing park turf by 50 percent in three neighborhood parks and replacing the turf with mulch. The reason for this change to the turf is to reduce the cost of water and maintenance. Functioning play equipment would be removed from two parks. The parks, facilities and play areas that would affected are:
- Parks that would have turf reduced by 50 percent:
Diana Park (on Diana Avenue)
Nordstrom Park (Dunne Avenue)
Jackson Park (on Trail Drive)
- Proposed turf reduction at city facilities:
Development Services Center (Peak Avenue)
Civic Center/City Hall
- The park reduction proposal recommends removing functioning play structures at :
Howard Wiechert Park (on Via Del Castille)
Sanchez Park (on Sanchez Drive)
While I am on the Parks and Recreation Commission, I am writing as a concerned resident of Morgan Hill.
Over the last few months, at PRC meetings, many residents of Morgan Hill have talked about the need for more grass fields to practice their sports and the need for more park space in town. Kids practice sports, and adults too, at several of the parks where the proposed turf reductions are being considered. Morgan Hill residents use their parks.
Mulch is not attractive and needs to be replaced every few years. I believe Morgan Hill is trying to become more “green.” Please consider what message is given to residents of our town when functioning parks are downsized, grass replaced with turf and functioning play structures removed. The impact these changes will have on our town’s aesthetics, moral and property values is very disheartening.
I believe it is important to consider both current cost reduction and long term cost reduction/savings when making a decision. Once turf has been reduced at a park it will be very expensive to add back in. Once play equipment has been removed it will be expensive to re-install. Mulch still requires maintenance as it fills with weeds, which are then sprayed with weed killer. And it does little for the aesthetics of a park and its usage.
All of the parks mentioned are fully functioning. I think that the community needs to be aware of what might be happening in their neighborhood. I am asking anyone who is interested in helping to maintain and preserve our parks to express their concerns to the City Council and attend the budget workshop at 7 p.m. Jan. 7, in the Council Chambers.
Kimberly Leiser, Morgan Hill
Helping hand for wildlife rescue organization would be appreciated
Dear Editor,
The recent stories in the paper have told about how the downturn in the economy has affected many of the businesses and non-profit organizations in our community. People have become more conservative with their funds and are spending more carefully.
In times like these, we need to support our community by shopping locally and doing what we can to support our local non-profits. The Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center is a local non-profit that does not receive funding from any government agency. We subsist on private donations and a few fundraising events. The majority of our funds are spent locally to care for injured, sick or orphaned native wildlife.
Food, medical supplies, enclosure maintenance supplies and other items are purchased, for the most part, from businesses in the South County. Visit www.werc-ca.org or call 779-WERC (9372) for more details on how to help out.
Sue Howell, WERC Executive Director, Morgan Hill
