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Less than two weeks after declaring a fiscal emergency, Hollister city officials announced mass layoffs of city employees on Oct. 14, with at least 37 people losing their jobs across different departments including police, water, finance, and parks and recreation.
In a news release, the city said the cuts are in response to its fiscal emergency but city officials have not confirmed the exact number of employees laid off. The majority of known layoffs come from the city’s two largest unions, Service Employees Union International and Hollister Police Officer Association.
“Workforce reductions affect multiple city departments and are part of a citywide effort to bring expenditures into alignment with available financial resources,” the city said in one of two news releases, noting that city workforce represents a “substantial portion of the city’s operating budget, and adding “these decisions are difficult and deeply personal. They affect dedicated public servants who have contributed to the Hollister community, often for many years.”
The city noted in the news release that it had implemented measures including voluntary separation and retirement incentives, but not enough employees had accepted to “generate sufficient savings.”
City Manager Ana Cortez declined comment, and Mayor Roxanne Stephens, Councilmembers Rudy Picha, Priscilla De Anda and Rolan Resendiz did not return BenitoLink’s calls and messages seeking comment.
Councilmember Dolores Morales said in a statement the city should consider hiring freezes, furloughs, and other options before layoffs.
“I believe there is a better way through this crisis, but we will only find it together— council, staff, unions, department heads, and community at the same table, working from the same facts,” Morales said.
She also said it’s important for the city to communicate what is happening and to treat people with dignity and respect because staff keep streets safe, water running and parks open.
Morales also noted the city had used an interfund loan to address the fiscal crisis but that the move was not a fix for the city’s budget challenges.
The council did not discuss nor approve the layoffs in public session.
Nearly half of the layoffs affected the Hollister Police Department, mostly involving nonsworn employees.
Hollister Police Sgt. Bo Leland, who serves as the Police Officers Association president, said his department was notified on Oct. 13 that eight nonsworn police employees were being laid off, impacting the records, fleet maintenance and evidence divisions. Leland added that a police captain was also laid off, and a code enforcement officer’s employment was terminated on Oct. 12.
“We cannot overstate how important our civilian staff is to us,” Leland said. “Every single one of them provides a vital function for us to be able to continue effectively policing the city.”
Service Employees International Union Local (SEIU) 521 President Frank Garcia said 16 members of his bargaining unit were laid off including eight in public works, four in finance, two in parks and recreation, two in the fire department, and one in the airport.
Garcia said nine other unrepresented employees, which include the police captain, were laid off.
Unrepresented employees generally are in supervisory or managerial positions.
According to the letter sent by the city on Oct. 14, the list of SEIU members being laid off includes one vacancy for a maintenance worker.
The complete list is as follows:
- Public Works: one equipment mechanic, one support service assistant and five water operators
- Finance: two accounting assistants, an accounting technician and the housing program coordinator
- Parks and Recreation: two recreation coordinators
- Fire: one administrative assistant and one senior support service assistant
- Airport: one senior support service assistant
“The consequences for our community are clear: fewer workers means reduced public safety, less reliable services and enormous financial risk,” Garcia said in a statement to BenitoLink on behalf of SEIU. “We must not be forced by the City Council to fund high-risk loans and lose control of our public utilities to Wall Street investors.”
According to the letter, the impacted employees will be immediately placed on paid administrative leave through Nov. 13. After that date, their employment will be terminated.
After completing the process with Human Resources at the police station, laid-off employees and their supporters rallied in front of City Hall.
At one point, Cortez appeared to be smiling as she walked from City Hall to the nearby finance department building. After she entered the finance department, several rallygoers momentarily demonstrated in front of the building before returning to the City Hall steps.
As Cortez returned to City Hall, a rallygoer with a megaphone yelled “there is the woman of the hour” at which Cortez raised her hand and walked past the demonstration and into City Hall.
According to an online video posted by television station KPIX, Cortez was seen sliding one hand across another in the direction of the protestors in a gesture commonly used to indicate throwing out money.
Leland said not having unsworn staff will make it difficult for the police department to complete paperwork procedures to ensure arrested people are prosecuted.
He said the people that lost their jobs were responsible for processing and releasing reports, sending reports or evidence to the district attorney’s office for prosecution and maintaining the police building and the vehicles.
Leland said while officers can still respond to calls and make arrests, what will happen with the resulting paperwork “remains to be seen.” He said officers are unable to take on those responsibilities because only certain people have access and training to be able to process reports.
“Once a person is arrested, there’s a process for the paperwork that has to be followed in order for them to legally be prosecuted by the district attorney’s office,” Leland said. “We are unable to follow that process moving forward.”
Public Service Officers Jennifer Corona and Jennelle Hoefling, who were among the employees that were laid off, echoed Leland’s concerns regarding the department’s inability to help the district attorney prosecute people who have been arrested. They described their role as the connection between officers, the district attorney’s office and the court.
Hoefling said the cuts are a “devastating blow to the department.”
“It potentially means someone who should not be out on the streets is going to get released from jail,” Corona said about the impact of the cuts. “That’s a big deal and the public should be aware.”
Hoefling said the cuts eliminate the checks and balances that exist within the department through the separation of responsibilities or chain of command. She said officers don’t have the same access records and evidence that staff have to programs or even some rooms in the police station to preserve the integrity of a case.
Hoefling said she had worked in the records department for 10 years while Corona said she had been there for almost five years.
Leland said that Cortez did not seek input from anybody at the police department before announcing the layoffs. He said that had she reached out, the officers’ union would have proposed to delay hiring six vacant officer positions and use those funds to cover the unsworn staff.
Cortez declined to comment, telling BenitoLink, “I do not have time.”
In two separate news releases on Oct. 14, the city challenged what it called the Police Officers Association’s claim that all civilian positions were being eliminated because animal control staff and the police senior administrative positions were not impacted.
Leland confirmed that one unsworn employee remains in the police station but said that person is on leave and it’s unknown when they will return to work.
At budget hearings in June, Cortez warned that the long-term goal was to cut 27 jobs, although the Hollister City Council and many employees urged her at the time to explore all options before laying off employees.
On Oct. 13, the city released a poster of its financial status, which shows that its budget is projected to have a $6.9 million deficit.
Since the beginning of the fiscal year in July, the city has approved interloan funds to address funding gaps as well as offered voluntary and retirement incentives. The city has not disclosed how many employees accepted the incentives, but in a news release it said “several” have.
Most recently, Cortez recommended seeking to privatize the city’s water utilities. The City Council also agreed to host a study session on the proposal but no date was set.
Leland said the biggest concern is the lack of collaboration between Cortez’s office, police administration and the union.
“This is equivalent to trying to trim some tree branches from the top of a tree by blowing up the tree at the base,” Leland said.
The city scheduled a special council meeting and town hall for Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. at City Hall. The only agenda item is a presentation about the city’s finances. The complete agenda is here.
Other related upcoming meetings scheduled include the Oct. 19 regular City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, an Oct. 24 city budget task force meeting at 9 a.m. at City Hall, and an Oct. 29 town hall with the business commission at the Pauline Valdivia Senior Center.
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