Riverton » In this south valley town of 38,000, City Hall staffers now take out their own trash and vacuum their own offices --- office workers even shovel the walks in the winter.
Stretching a municipal budget in these troubled economic times is tough --- and necessary.
In Riverton, during the past year, 15 staff positions have been eliminated. That's an even 15 percent reduction as the city's workforce was slashed from 100 employees to 85.
The cuts came as the town's budget shrank 20 percent during the two-year period from $10.8 million in fiscal year 2006-07 to $8.8 million in fiscal year 2008-09 that ended June 30.
Remaining employees are taking on more responsibilities to keep the city from cutting services, said Mayor Bill Applegarth.
"Our employees are working their hearts out," Applegarth said.
In some cases, the city has contracted for services to save money, according to City Manager Lance Blackwood.
Eight full-time parks employees were laid off. Maintenance of Riverton parks and open space has been taken over by a private firm. The contract saves the city about $200,000 a year.
"I don't think the parks have looked better," Blackwood said. "But the casualties were the employees [who were let go]. It was real tough."
In other cases, employees are taking on expanded roles, Blackwood said.
For example, Riverton used to have a Public Works Department director and a City Engineer. The Public Works director was laid off and now the City Engineer takes on the responsibilities of both positions.
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