CLEARLAKE – This Thursday the Clearlake City Council will look at making several big cuts to the city's budget, including numerous staff layoffs and the reduction of key administrative jobs to half-time.

A special closed session will begin at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, May 13, at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. During that session the council will discuss the Sierra Club lawsuit against the city and developer KK Raphel Properties LLC over the city's Lowe's project.

The open portion of the meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

The main agenda item is the proposed budget reductions in response to the city's difficult financial situation.

City Administrator Dale Neiman's proposal includes cutting 9.5 full-time equivalent positions, including one police lieutenant, a sergeant position, three police officers, a maintenance worker, office assistant and assistant planner. One full-time sergeant would be replaced with a half-time officer.

In addition, both Neiman's position and the financial director job would be reduced to half-time, according to his report.

The measures are necessary, according to Neiman, because of deficits in key city funds that will total close to half a million dollars by the end of the fiscal year.

Neiman stated in his report that the city's staff positions have been reduced by 43 percent since 2007.

If the recommendation to eliminate the 5.5 police jobs is approved, Neiman said that would total 9.5 positions that, since 2007, have disappeared from Clearlake Police Department.

Included in the recommendation is the elimination of both code enforcement and planning.

“In 2008 and 2009 we handled 2,471 code enforcement cases,” Neiman's report said. “The recommendation to eliminate the code enforcement program will result in serious environmental contamination, depreciation of property values, and more people living in unsafe buildings.”

Neiman said that eliminating the Planning Department will increase other employees' workload. That and reducing his job to half-time will slow response times to applications and public requests, he added.

Other proposed cuts include closing Austin and Redbud parks, and reductions to the engineering department.

In other council business Thursday, the council will present a proclamation declaring May 17-21 as Neuropathy Awareness Week and Supervisor Jeff Smith will present the city the final check for the senior center's community garden project.

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