Cut down on consultants, contractuals, Cebu City Hall told

STATE auditors advised Cebu City Hall to cut down on its consultants and contractual workers as part of austerity measures to save on government funds.

In its report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the Cebu City government spent most of last year’s appropriation on personnel and maintenance and other operating expenses resulting in  reduced net income surplus of P205 million.

Last year’s net income was 69 percent less than the 2011 net income of P678.4 million.

“The trend is alarming since it shows that income earned by the City was used up by expenditures needed for (City Hall’s) operation,” the COA said.

Dominic Diño, head of the City Hall’s human resource development office, said the city now has 20 elected officials and 4,436 personnel of which 1,302 are holding regular plantilla.

The city’s work force include 3,075 casual workers, 46 contractual employees, 11 co-terminus workers and one temporary personnel.

Diño said ¼ of the city’s 2012 budget of P4 billion was spent on employees salaries, monetization of leave credits and settlement of other personnel service related expenses.

The HRDO inventory still doesn’t include City Hall consultants because of the deadlock between the executive and legislative departments in the appointment of their respective advisors.

COA also recommended the “adoption of a scheme that will allow employees rendering overtime to be compensated through time/days off in lieu of overtime pay.”

Diño said the performance evaluation which Mayor Michael Rama ordered before he assumed his second term in office last July 1 would ensure that the city government only employ the people it needs.

As of yesterday, about 244 casual employees were no longer renewed while hiring was suspended.

A second round of performance evaluation on 200 casuals who were given a one-to-two month contract will be done anytime. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac