Layoffs

The POA president urged the council to rescind layoff notices, saying the previous administration manipulated financial data and that employees deserve stability while new leadership works with unions on alternatives.

Said layoffs were decided based on fraudulent, inaccurate numbers and warned that cutting positions would strip essential services like court prosecutions, water bills, and payments at city hall.

Read a statement on behalf of fellow POA member Stacy Esqueda, noting ten police department employees facing layoff represent 67 years of combined policing experience being lost with no cross-training or preparation.

Said no one can trust the numbers, asked the council to buy time, bring in outside help for finance, and let HR and the unions keep working toward real solutions before November 13.

A Public Works engineering employee laid off October 14, she thanked the council for ending the financial emergency and administrative leave but asked them to also rescind the November 13 terminations.

The utilities supervisor described short-staffed water, sewer, and stormwater crews facing El Niño, and flagged an unbalanced arrangement with Sunny Slope Water that deserves review.

Said no employee should have to do months of research just to get clear answers about decisions affecting their livelihood, and asked the council to rescind the layoffs.

A resident who warned the council that separated employees likely can't be brought back a second time, and that if the notices stand, the loss is a choice the council is making and must own.

Noted the approved $12 million loan gives the city breathing room and urged rescinding layoff notices and getting an independent audit of the numbers.

Asked the council to postpone the layoffs until reliable financial numbers exist, saying the November 13 deadline is premature.

Asked the council to rescind layoff notices since the financial emergency was rescinded and the numbers keep changing.

Thanked the council for letting HPOA employees return and asked them to remove the November 13 layoff deadline for SEIU workers too.

An airport employee affected by the layoffs asked the council to rescind the layoffs entirely, saying accurate numbers won't exist by November.

The housing program coordinator, tearfully describing the uncertainty facing her family, asked the council to rescind all layoff notices.

A police department volunteer warned civilian layoffs closed the volunteer program and delayed paperwork that let arrested people be released, urging the council to examine the layoffs' impact.

A police records officer laid off October 14 said she and nine colleagues were blindsided and that arrestees were released because reports went unprocessed; she called for Cortez's termination.

A laid-off city employee challenged the city manager's transparency and asked who is holding her accountable.

The laid-off utility supervisor said she's the only remaining certified employee able to oversee water, sewer, and stormwater systems, and warned of El Niño risks with no supervisor left.

Cited police department statistics to argue removing support personnel infringed constitutional due process rights and wasted taxpayer-funded officer hours.

A ten-year engineering division employee laid off October 14 described being escorted out like a stranger and asked the council to reinstate laid-off workers and work with the union.

A Teamster and GOP county chair warned the layoffs endanger police, fire, and flood readiness, and questioned how storm drains will be maintained under El Niño.

A stormwater employee said the city admitted its deficit figures and accounting were wrong after he flagged them, and slammed the double standard of layoffs while management errors remain uncorrected.

One of six laid-off finance employees said she'd been assured she was essential; her supervisor got her notice while on maternity leave.

A four-year accounting assistant laid off October 14 asked how residents will pay water bills due the next day and urged the council to reconsider the layoffs.

Fought back tears over the layoffs of records staff and water yard crews she knows personally, and urged the council to unanimously terminate the city manager.

A recreation coordinator laid off after seven years said the layoffs erase the people who make community programs and youth sports possible.

One of four records clerks laid off with 15 hours' notice said eliminating positions doesn't eliminate the work and there's no plan for how it gets done.

A former mayor herself, she said the public needs real numbers — general fund spending jumped $10 million year over year — and no more layoffs until the council sees a cash flow forecast explaining the increase.

An 18-year water department employee and SEIU chapter president asked the council to take two actions: no layoffs and no contracting out, warning that institutional knowledge won't come back.