This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In this tight economy, Salt Lake County employees better not expect too much pain relief from the 2012 compensation package in Mayor Peter Corroon's proposed budget.
There are no plans to restore pay and 401(k) contributions that were previously reduced. Merit and longevity increases would be out, as would be cost-of-living adjustments. Health insurance premiums would likely go up 7.5 percent after April 1.
On the other hand, mandatory furloughs are not in the works. Dental insurance premiums would hold steady. And, in a show of appreciation to employees for all of their sacrifices since the Great Recession shrank county revenues, many would get the equivalent of two personal days off with pay.
"We want to recognize those people who have worked hard for the last couple of years, doing more work with less pay," Corroon said Wednesday in a meeting with other elected county officials such as the district attorney, assessor, treasurer and clerk.
These concepts are preliminary, Corroon emphasized, and could be modified before he formally presents the 2012 spending plan to the County Council in mid-November. For instance, one still-undecided issue is whether to offer early retirement, an option that may work better for some departments than others.
Jan Johnson, of the Utah Alliance of Government Employees, one of a handful of unions representing county employees, said the preliminary proposals were consistent with what she heard in a briefing last week with the mayor.
She was mainly relieved that Corroon, a Democrat, wants to avoid furloughs and hopes that he sticks by that position if the Republican-led council opts to go that route instead of raising taxes.
"With this kind of economic pressure on everybody, we didn't ask for a pay increase," Johnson said. "We just asked that they don't harm the employees any more than they already have been hurt by having their pay cut two years ago and not getting anything to keep up with inflation."
While they judiciously tried to avoid using the "T word" taxes several elected officials suggested it might be time for them to individually tell council members that all of the cuts that can be made without sacrificing services or personnel have been made.
District Attorney Sim Gill was the most vocal, noting that a dozen years of not raising property taxes has effectively cut the spending power of each dollar coming into county coffers by 20 percent.
"As difficult as that conversation is, maybe we need to talk to the council," he said. "We need balanced solutions."
Twitter: @sltribmikeg
Open house
P Salt Lake County's sanitation division will hold the first of five regional meetings on recycling services from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Herriman Library, 5380 W. Herriman Main St.