Budget vote likely on June 10

Budget presentations by the City's various departments concluded Wednesday, and the City Council eventually decided to push back a vote on adopting the Fiscal Year 2009/10 Budget until June 10.

Various employee groups and others have agreed to unpaid furlough days and the elimination of a 3 percent match by the City to the employees' deferred compensation contribution, which works like a 401(k) match in the private sector. Together, they amount to a roughly 7.6 percent reduction in pay and benefits.

All departments heads and City Council appointees (City Manager, City Clerk, City Attorney), along with most other employees, agreed to this for the final four months of the current fiscal year and all of FY 2009/10.

As of Wednesday night, the following bargaining groups had yet to reach agreements with City management: General Services, Lodi Professional Firefighters and Fire Mid-Management.

The City Council decided to give those groups another week to figure out a way to avoid potential layoffs before it votes on the budget in a continuation of the meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 at the Carnegie Forum.