Gimenez's budget could lead to police officer layoffs

While campaigning for Miami-Dade County mayor in 2011, Carlos Gimenez vowed to slash property taxes and county spending but promised he would not lay off police officers or close any fire stations. At PolitiFact Florida, we have been tracking Gimenez's promises on our Carlos-O-Meter.

But the budget now faces a $64 million deficit -- and spending cuts could include public safety.

On July 8, Gimenez released his proposed $6.2 billion budget, which includes eliminating more than 600 jobs out of a 25,000 workforce. Many of those jobs are already vacant so it's likely that the number of workers actually laid off will be much less. The next fiscal year starts Oct. 1.

For the police department, the budget proposal eliminates about 228 sworn positions in administrative and specialized units, including marine patrol and special events units. That includes 50 individuals who are currently in the basic law enforcement academy. (They haven't yet graduated so aren't technically sworn officers yet.)

Exactly who in the department will get laid off -- and how many will be actual officers, rather than administrators or supervisors -- won't be clear for a couple of months. Under union rules, if the county targets a certain position for a layoff, the worker may be able to "bump" a worker with less seniority.

No reductions will be made to street patrol or investigative units, according to Gimenez's proposal. The plan also includes cuts to civilian jobs.

"The mayor has said he wants to keep the same number of officers on the street in our communities," said county spokesman Michael Hernández.

Only one of the 228 targeted officer jobs is vacant, Hernández said.

The proposed cuts make some assumptions, including that the county gets no concessions from labor unions. A proposed change to the health care plan that would increase out of pocket costs for workers could eliminate the layoffs, Hernández said.

The proposed layoffs come as no surprise. Gimenez had wanted county employees to continue contributing 5 percent of their base pay toward group healthcare costs. But in February, the commission eliminated that concession which had been a long-running sore spot with labor unions. Gimenez warned commissioners that their decision would lead to layoffs.

"I would not be surprised if he issues pink slips," John Rivera, head of the union that represents police officers, told PolitiFact Florida. "How far he will let it go -- or more importantly the commission will let it go -- time will tell."

The budget proposal doesn't close any fire stations.

It's possible over the next two months that the county will find a way to avoid giving pink slips before it finalizes the budget Sept. 18, but Gimenez's current proposal includes layoffs and that could include officers.

For now, we rate this Stalled.