By Nathan Duke
Community Board 11 staff members and employees of boards all across the borough are fearing for their jobs as they face as much as $30,000 in proposed cuts for next year’s budget, CB 11’s district manager said.
CB 11’s fiscal year 2009 budget was restored by the City Council. But the board, as well as other community boards around Queens, could face new proposed cuts in July when 2010’s fiscal year budget goes into effect, CB 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld said.
“District managers’ hands would be tied,” Seinfeld said. “A lot of our money goes toward community hearings and to carry out our charter mandates. If we get cut too much, we’ll have problems sending out public notifications for meetings. We’re a small agency.”
She said the board could face several rounds of cuts proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Under the first proposed cut, the board might have to lose $18,000. The board might then be forced to cut an additional $5,000 and then $3,600, depending on the city’s economic climate, she said. The board could be forced to lay off one of its employees in the summer to make up for the cuts if they are not restored by the Council, she said.
She said boards across the borough would likely be forced to make similar decisions.
The Council will begin budget negotiations in the spring and will vote on the city’s budget for 2010 in June.
“The Council has restored our cuts before, but it wasn’t during an economic downturn,” Seinfeld said. “This year, it will be determined by what happens in the next few months in terms of revenues, which have dropped. All city agencies could be facing cuts.”
In November, the Council negotiated to restore $20 million in funding to groups throughout the city, preventing community boards from having to cut 7 percent from their budgets, as Bloomberg had proposed.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e−mail at nduke@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 156.
