More than 250 Ventura County members attended the Aug 27 bargaining meeting at Poinsettia Pavilion. They learned that the County’s proposals to close offices and make other cuts aren’t based on real numbers.
“We need to rally together because these cuts are going to hurt services to the public and the County doesn’t even know their own budget for next year,” said Patricia Whitehead, Mental Health Associate/Behavioral Health, pictured speaking.
The bargaining team shared details from the financial report that County’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Paul Derse, had given them earlier that day.
The report stated that the $9 million budget deficit for next year is only a projection because they are still waiting for additional information. The earliest they would have a preliminary budget is January 2010.
What’s Next
Workers left the meeting determined to stop these cuts and look at other ways to cut costs and increase revenue. Click here to download a form to submit your ideas (pdf) and then get more details and RSVP to the Cost Cutting Workgroup on Sep 3
Take Action
Attend the next Contract Action Team meeting: Click here to get details and RSVP.
Attend the rally at the September 15 Board of Supervisor’s meeting: click here to get details and RSVP