PORT ANGELES — Richard Bonine, the city’s recreation services manager who spearheaded efforts to get Port Angeles’ new dog park built near Lincoln Park, will be laid off Jan. 1 as part of an effort to help stanch a minimum $600,000 overall deficit projected for 2013, City Manager Dan McKeen confirmed Wednesday.
In a Tuesday email obtained by the Peninsula Daily News, city employees were notified that Bonine’s position will be eliminated because of revenues that are “less than expected while costs are more than expected.”
The parks/facilities maintenance division in the Public Works & Utilities Department and the parks-recreation division under the city manager’s purview will merge, McKeen said.
The result: Bonine’s position will be eliminated.
This will save the city about $90,000 in salary and benefits, said city Finance Director Byron Olson on Wednesday.
The new agency will be headed by Corey Delikat, currently the city’s acting deputy director of public works operations, who will report to McKeen.
The parks-recreation division manages city-sponsored outdoor and indoor recreation programs and facilities, such as the Fine Arts Center and Senior Center.
McKeen said Wednesday a part-time position in his office also will be cut effective Jan. 1.
“Other than that, we are hoping reductions in personnel will occur through attrition,” he said.
The city will advertise for Delikat’s deputy director position.
Bonine, 44, an easygoing man with an Oklahoma drawl, moved to Port Angeles five years ago to take the job and was told of the layoff Tuesday, he said.
“The budget’s tight,” he said Wednesday. “City management has to do what is in the best interests of the citizens, and I understand that.”
He couldn’t say what his future plans will be.
“I’ll be fine,” Bonine said. “I’ll make sure this transition goes as smoothly possible.”
Other positions in the division Bonine now heads are expected to be eliminated through attrition. McKeen said.
Delikat will determine whether recreation programs will be affected as the new department’s budget comes together for 2013, McKeen said.
Delikat, 39, has worked for city parks since he was 17, when he groomed ballfields, he said Wednesday.
“I know the recreation program very well,” he said.
He said it had always been his dream to be parks and recreation director.
“I’ve got to figure out what’s best for the city and the budget, and still give a high-quality product,” he said.
“It’s going to be a challenge.”
McKeen will update employees on the budget next week and present a balanced 2013 preliminary general fund budget at the City Council’s Oct. 23 work session.
“I believe we have the teamwork necessary to keep our city moving in a positive direction,” he said.
The general fund budget, which pays for day-to-day operations such as salaries, is $19.5 million for 2012 compared with $18 million for 2011, a 14 percent increase.
The City Council transferred $1.2 million in 2011 reserves to pay for efforts including the waterfront improvement and city wireless projects, Olson said.
Public Works & Utilities Director Glenn Cutler was out of the office Wednesday and unavailable for comment.
The combined department will have a 2012 budget of $2.5 million, including $400,000 for recreational programs.
Earlier this year, the city faced a projected end-of-2012 deficit of $600,000 before not filling vacant positions, including those of a senior accountant in Olson’s office, assistant fire chief-fire marshal and a front-counter permit person in community and economic development.
If those positions stay unfilled, the city would save about $250,000 in salary and benefits, Olson said.
A full-time Fine Arts Center assistant position also is not expected to be filled, Olson said.
Canceling a project to provide space at City Hall for police and other city records saved $250,000, Olson said.
Interest rates are expected to stay at or near current levels through 2015, he said.
“There’s still a lot of angst on the part of businesses as well as individuals to either start to spend or continue to spend,” Olson said.
“Folks are just sort of in a holding pattern.”
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
