The Department of Public Works submitted its layoff plan yesterday to DOA.
The plan was submitted as part of the Calvo administration’s effort to reorganize and rightsize the government of Guam in an effort to reduce the expenditures of the government, thus fixing the “structural imbalance of the General Fund,” according to the advisory.
Five positions will be eliminated, all within the Capital Improvement Projects Division. These positions are: one chief planner; one planner II; one engineer supervisor; and two engineer IIs.
DPW Deputy Director Carl Dominguez said the person holding the planner II position retired on Sept. 30. The chief planner, one of four engineer supervisors and two of seven engineer IIs will be terminated, added Dominguez.
However, DOA, not DPW, will determine who these individuals will be. In addition, the layoffs will be decided by a process involving a retention register at DOA’s Human Resources Division.
“We don’t choose the people, we just choose the positions. DOA will figure out who these people will be,” Dominguez said.
This is the first time the retention register will ever be run in GovGuam’s history. The course of this layoff plan will set the precedent for future layoff plans, which are expected from other agencies soon, according to the advisory.
When asked if DPW will continue to identify other positions to eliminate because of redundancy, Dominguez said DPW will continue to look at its operations, and “if we feel there’s some opportunities, we might.”
Halted
With the submission of this plan, all hiring for positions within the same position class(es) as the above named positions are halted in the line agencies, according to the advisory.
DPW Director Joanne Brown has already assessed the current manpower levels of DPW. In her submission of the layoff plan to DOA’s Human Resources Administrator Shane Ngata, she certified that the following conditions exist at DPW:
• There is a lack of funds to sustain the department at its current levels.
• DPW is strained in its ability to provide core services, such as the building and maintaining of roads, bussing students to and from school, fixing and maintaining government vehicles and buildings, permitting and inspecting facilities, and administering the department itself.
• By the end of Fiscal Year 2011, DPW ran out of funding, including funds needed for bus fuel.
• There has been a reduction in the project responsibilities of the Capital Improvement Projects Division. The resulting workload does not justify the current staffing levels in comparison to the demands of the other DPW divisions.
The reduction in force of these positions does not mean the people holding these positions will be released. A lengthy process will follow to determine who will be laid off. Employees have bumping or displacement rights, along with other rights pursuant to DOA Personnel Rules & Regulations, according to the advisory.
“This reduction in force signifies the tough decisions the government is making, which should have been incrementally made over the past 20 years. It is with deep regret that the government must make these decisions to reduce personnel,” said the Governor’s Office in its advisory.
