Miamidade To Be 1195 Million Over Budget If Union Deals Done March 1

By Risa Polansky
Should Miami-Dade settle contracts with all of its unions by March 1, the county will have spent $119.5 million more than planned for in this year’s budget, a Feb. 10 memo from County Manager George Burgess says.

Departmental reserves and unbudgeted carryover money can be shifted to cover the bulk of the losses — about $83.7 million — but service reductions and layoffs will have to cover the bulk of the rest, also beginning March 1.

The memo does not outline that savings plan further.

The county had been — and still is — reporting losing about $8 million every two-week pay period since Oct. 1 to paying last year’s higher salaries with union contracts outstanding.

At that rate, the county should have hemorrhaged around $80 million by March 1, so it is unclear where the $119.5 million total came from.

Regardless, it looks like the losses are to soon stop.

Four unions have ratified pay and benefits cuts, and three more could consider contracts by month’s end, Mr. Burgess wrote.

The commission is to be asked to ratify them at "upcoming regular meetings."

Though timing will be different when it comes to when each union agreed to pay and benefits cuts over the past few months, as well as when the administration announced cuts for its own non-union employees, "it is our intent to make all provisions of these contracts effective March 1, 2010," Mr. Burgess wrote. Advertisement