At 10:30 this morning, Mayor Jerry Abramson is holding a press conference to announce cuts to services as he prepares us for more bad news on the economy. It appears that the city’s unions aren’t willing to take the pay cuts he’s suggesting, which could force him to consider layoffs in their ranks. He should call them on it.

City government treats the “L” word like a disease, while in the real world, layoffs are among the first steps taken in a budget shortfall. Ask the execs at Ford, or Gannett.

In a C-J story over the weekend, Councilman Kelly Downard suggested that the city take a look at what a city government is really supposed to be doing, and then started cutting. He suggested that half the Neighborhoods Department could be cut.  So I did a quick check of the C-J’s database and found that there are 109 employees listed in the Department of Neighborhoods. About half of them are interns making less than $10K, but Downard is right to question whether these activities and the personnel associated with them are essential.

Neighborhoods has three assistant directors making more than $70K.   It has several people working in Community Outreach. I’m sure these people work hard and do important work, but are they essential?

Rather than spending so much time and effort protecting these employees, Abramson should be passing out pink slips. Downard thinks we can cut half the people in Neighborhoods. He’s right. But he shouldn’t stop there.