From Kim Minugh
Two dozen non-firefighting employees were laid off from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District today as part of $11 million in cost-cutting by the organization.
The 24 layoffs targeted administrative and support staff members from divisions such as fire prevention, finance, facilities and public education, said spokesman Capt. Rusty Dupray. The district will save about $4 million by eliminating those positions, bringing officials to the $11 million goal they needed to meet to make up for declining property tax revenue.
All the cutbacks represented about 4 percent of the district's total work force, Dupray said.
Managers notified the affected employees today of the layoffs, which are effective immediately, he said.
Previously, the district had cut about $7 million by closing three fire stations, moving eight captains from administrative roles back to stations, demoting 27 captains and engineers and implementing an "exit incentive program," in which eight employees left the district voluntarily, Dupray said.
Today's layoffs will have no direct impact on fire station operations, he said.
"There are no line firefighters being laid off," Dupray said. "So where the rubber meets the road, the fire engines will continue to run, as will the ambulances."
Dupray said that should positions become available again within the next five years, employees laid off today will be eligible to return to their jobs.
The fire agency serves approximately 600,000 people in parts of Sacramento County, Placer County and the city of Citrus Heights.
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