South Tahoe making progress with employee groups

By Kathryn Reed

Instead of having a special budget meeting, the South Lake Tahoe City Council is set to vote on the 2011-12 financial document Oct. 18 at 2pm.

This is the same day as the next regular council meeting that will start at 9am at Lake Tahoe Airport. The budget discussion is time certain.

Negotiations are ongoing with the various employee groups. The council discussed the matter in closed session Oct. 4 with no reportable action.

However, the proposed budget as last made public did not have the three fire division chiefs in it. Their severance, according to Lake Tahoe News sources, is still being negotiated.

The fire union, which is everyone below the rank of division chief, could have a signed deal this week.

One reason the budget hearing was pushed back a week is the General-Public Works group and city staff are having a pre-mediation meeting Thursday. That means mediation could not have happened in time to accommodate the previously scheduled Oct. 11 budget hearing.

The non-represented management and non-represented confidential employees’ agreement was pulled from the Oct. 4 consent agenda by Councilwoman Angela Swanson.

“I’m not comfortable putting something like this on consent,” Swanson said.

This is the first group of employees to pay their full contribution to PERS. Their furlough days have been eliminated, no raises are part of the deal, and the city manager does not get any bonus for this deal or any forthcoming budget agreements.

In other action:

• City Manager Tony O’Rourke’s evaluation was pushed back to November. After Tuesday’s meeting he told Lake Tahoe News because there is no raise forthcoming and there are other pressing matters for the council to deal with, he is fine with the delay. He also said he is content with his original three-year contract and does not want to change it.

• The property on Stateline Avenue that was on closed session was about the possibility of the city acquiring it for a park. The city doesn’t have the $4.1 million to purchase the lakefront land, plus it is already in escrow, according to officials. But the city would like more property for parks if the right opportunity presents itself. This property was at one time owned by Falcon Capital — Randy Lane’s company.