| City weighs cutting benefits
ROSEMEAD - The city is looking for ways to cut employee benefits because of a drain on the budget. City officials have been meeting with employees and informing them of possible changes to their benefits and retirement packages, although nothing has been finalized or proposed to the City Council. Estimates show that the city will have to pay up to $12 million out of its coffers for the employee packages and retirement plans, said Oliver Chi, deputy city manager. "We don't think we can afford it," Chi said. "If we're being fiscally responsible, we have to come up with a plan that will cost the city less." Costly retirement packages and lifelong health care coverage that currently doesn't cost employees anything will bleed the city's budget if a change is not made, Chi said.
No progress in transit mediation
The city and transit union will meet with a mediator for a second time today in hopes of ending a work-to-rule campaign. After meeting for eight hours yesterday at an undisclosed hotel, Mike Mahar, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583 said few of the major issues have been addressed but he's not ready to abandon talks. "We don't have any more information today in where we are on outstanding issues then when we broke off talks on March 31," said Mahar. The union, representing 2,400 drivers, mechanics and office staff, applied for mediation after 10 months of talks with city officials stalled. Should mediation fail, the union could call for a strike vote and if successful, walk away from buses and C-Trains after a 14-day cooling off period and 72 hours notice.
County wants city, fire district to seek mediator
The Cowley County Commission agreed, in an informal decision on Tuesday morning, to recommend Arkansas City officials and the Rural Fire District 5 Board meet with a mediator and come to an agreement on the District 5 coverage issue. The three county commissioners are still concerned about the division between the parties and conferred with county counselor Bill Taylor about what they could do.
The fire district may create its own department to avoid rising costs for services from Arkansas City.
"I wish I had the answers," said Taylor. "But I think the best thing you can do is be advisory."
Leroy Alsup, county administrator, suggested the possibility of a mediator to encourage dialogue and to arbitrate the discussion. "We all have something at stake in this," said Commissioner Gary Wilson.
Opposition licks wounds as Mugabe holds on
Only a week ago, Zimbabwe's opposition activists and many analysts were talking excitedly about a “tipping point", and predicting that Robert Mugabe's regime was near its end. The economy was continuing its relentless collapse, the opposition was more united than in years, and the ruling Zanu-PF party was mutinous. .
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