Mayor Paul Soglin and the Board of Estimates reviewed how many positions could be eliminated in the 2012 city of Madison operating budget during their meeting Tuesday.

A major point of discussion for the board was the creation and elimination of jobs. Soglin said the preservation of jobs and avoiding layoffs are a high priority for the city.

An increasingly tight budget, however, has created need to eliminate city positions altogether. These cuts include positions in the mayor’s office, human resources, information technology and several other departments, Finance Director David Schmiedicke said. There will be a total of 15 positions eliminated, he said.

The board also reviewed several jobs that were created or maintained by the 2012 budget. Schmiedicke said this includes custodial positions in the engineering department and funding for a research analyst position on City Council.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the Alcohol Policy Coordinator position is another main concern. Verveer said this position was previously funded equally by both the University of Wisconsin and the city, but UW decided to withdraw its support.

Effective July 2012, the position will be funded entirely with city dollars. The board decided the loss of funding from UW would result in the city providing an additional $20,000 annually to maintain the position. 

Another employment issue raised was where to place eight former Overture Hall employees whose positions were cut. Schmiedicke said that further discussion will determine which positions within the city they are eligible for.

Soglin and the board also discussed the impact the new budget would have on services provided by the city.

Prices will increase for several services, Schmiedicke said. Notable changes include a possible 8 percent increase in water utilities and 4.92 percent increase in charges for processing and disposal of sewage.

Representatives from several city departments voiced their concerns about the impact the budget would have on their specific departments.

Judge David Koval from the Madison Municipal Court said the current economy has had a big effect on the court’s ability to collect.

“More people come to court requesting payment plans, community service, et cetera – there have been problems with people’s ability to make payments in court,” he said.

Relatively low funding from the city means the court needs to make up the loss in other ways, Koval said.

He said this will include collecting on traffic violations by suspending drivers licenses and collecting on parking tickets by suspending registrations.

Clifford Blackwell, president of the Madison City Attorneys’ Association and Hearing Examiner for the Department of Civil Rights, argued against the creation of furlough days for his position.

“If the proposed furlough for [my] position goes through, [the city] will be without a hearing examiner for a month of the year,” he said.

Blackwell said his organization’s goal is to ensure its collective bargaining rights.

“What we would ask is that you do nothing that would put the city in the position of Gov. Walker in requiring the dissolution of a collective bargaining agreement between the city and one of its labor unions,” he said.

Discussions regarding the operating budget will continue until it is submitted to City Council.