Residents rally 'round Menlo shuttle-bus coordinator Residents rally 'round Menlo shuttle-bus coordinator (May 05, 2004)

** Debbie Helming could lose her job to budget cuts, but many say her salary could be paid with grants.

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

Jean Orr, 89, doesn't look like a rabble-rouser. But she's got a mission, and a petition with 55 signatures neatly folded in her purse.

Her warm voice takes on a hint of flint as she talks about Menlo Park's shuttle bus service, which she fears will be hurt if its coordinator is laid off.

"This is a necessity," says Ms. Orr, who has ridden the shuttle almost daily since its inception in 1989. "It's actually a lifeline for people who have no other means of transportation."

Senior citizens who no longer drive take the shuttle to medical appointments, the Little House Activity Center, the library and Stanford Shopping Center, she says. In the morning and late afternoon, commuters board the shuttle to go between work and the Caltrain station.

Ms. Orr also has high praise for Debbie Helming, the transportation management coordinator whose position is on the chopping block in a budget plan coming before the City Council on May 18. She says Ms. Helming has been diligent about making sure seniors are satisfied with the service.

So Ms. Orr is circulating a petition that will go to the council members, urging them to keep Ms. Helming on staff. So far, 55 residents of the Crane Place senior community in Menlo Park, where Ms. Orr lives, have signed.

A separate petition at Little House has about 30 signatures, director Janice Pierce said.

City Manager David Boesch says he feels the transportation division can keep the shuttle service at its current level by shifting Ms. Helming's duties to other employees. But Ms. Pierce said she fears the coordinator's loss will cause the program to suffer -- and that the city will ultimately prune the service back.

"You take away the key person and the service will just go away. She takes the care and has the time to make sure that the interconnecting parts work," Ms. Pierce said.

In this fourth straight year of budget cuts, Mr. Boesch is proposing a host of reductions to plug up a projected $2.24 million deficit in the city's $27 million general fund budget. These include eliminating 10.75 full-time positions, including recreation personnel. Fees for services such as child care are going up.

Revenues have lagged and personnel costs continue to climb, Mr. Boesch said. Pension costs in particular are growing, which has driven officials to reduce the city's workforce from 260 to 241 in two years.

City staff have been looking all through the budget for areas that can be cut, and Ms. Helming's position was chosen because officials believe the routes and frequency of the shuttle can be maintained, Mr. Boesch said.

He added that staff members are still figuring out which staff members would assume Ms. Helming's duties. He acknowledged that people calling for information about the shuttle service would likely have their calls returned more slowly.

In this time of austerity, city employees can apply for a package of incentives to resign, take early retirement or have reduced work hours. When asked about her plans, Ms. Helming said, "It is not my intention to retire early, but if that decision is made for me then I would want to accept the early retirement package."

Ms. Helming declined to give her age but said she believes it would be too early for her to receive a full pension. A Menlo Park resident and former teacher, she has worked for the city since 1983, helping start the shuttle service in 1989.

"It's just wonderful knowing that people appreciate the work I've done," she said of the petition campaign.

Grant logic

Cost-cutting is all well and good, but in this case many say eliminating the shuttle coordinator position makes no sense because its salary can be covered by grants.

Ms. Helming, who works a three-quarter-time schedule, earns around $60,000, with benefits making the total package near $80,000, according to Mr. Boesch. But nearly $51,000 of that is paid for by Measure A funds from a county half-cent transportation sales tax.

Mr. Boesch said the city pays up to $20,000 annually toward Ms. Helming's salary. But Menlo Park also gets money from air quality and traffic congestion relief programs, which can be used both for the shuttles and Ms. Helming's salary, said Walter Martone, transportation manager for the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG).

For example, the city got almost $41,000 this year for congestion relief through C/CAG.

Mr. Boesch, though, said the grant funding might be better used. Measure A funding is not earmarked for specific projects, he added.

"Money's money. What we don't spend on her salary we have available to spend on other projects," he said. "Under Measure A we can do anything from street paving to traffic studies."

Crane Place resident Paul Wirthlin, who is confined to a wheelchair and depends on the shuttle, was skeptical of the city manager's reasoning. He and Ms. Orr both said it would make more sense for the city to pay for Ms. Helming's salary -- therefore supporting public transit -- than car allowances.

Eleven city department heads are paid monthly car allowances for using their personal vehicles, personnel director Glen Kramer said. Mr. Boesch receives $400, while the rest get $320.

Up to the council

Ultimately, it will be up to the council to decide how to proceed. So far, Councilman Chuck Kinney appears to be the only defender of Ms. Helming.

When the council first discussed the proposed layoffs on April 6, only Mr. Kinney spoke in favor of keeping Ms. Helming's position. When he asked for support from his council colleagues, silence ensued.

Many hope that will change. Roberta Roth, the city's outreach librarian and a union steward, said she feels Ms. Helming's services are irreplaceable.

"She has a great rapport with seniors," Ms. Roth said. "She personally rides on the shuttle to get a first-hand view, and she's the one who fields the phone calls."

Ms. Roth added, "The transportation department is a very small department. I don't believe anyone else there has the expertise in running this kind of program."

The May 18 meeting is tentatively scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 801 Laurel St. After public hearings, the council is expected to approve the 2004-05 budget in late June.

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