Eight positions have been eliminated by the City of Williams Lake in hopes to save $4 million during the next five years.
The newly-elected city council is attempting to find savings by restructuring, Mayor Walt Cobb said.
"We are trying to achieve a zero per cent tax increase and the job cuts will help us achieve that."
Four positions are being removed from management and four from the union positions.
Cobb told the Tribune the four management positions include managers of economic development, social development, information and technology, and transportation and building.
The four union positions are protective services receptionist, communications co-ordinator, bylaw enforcement officer and a planner.
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 882 business manager Adrian David said employers are entitled to reorganize their workplace, however, he had a problem with the fact there was no prior consultation about the cuts in Williams Lake.
"A few hours prior to the layoffs we were notified," David said. "We want to work with the city, but there are many challenges with this current process the city has embarked upon."
There are provisions within the collective agreement for employees who are laid off, however, David said the union is working with affected employees to try and find them positions within the city of Williams Lake jurisdiction if possible.
One of the eight positions is being removed through attrition because the transportation and building manager moved away, Cobb said, adding the workload will be shared by existing staff.
Cobb said the city is still trying to fill the manager of planning and operations position vacated when Geoff Goodall resigned and accepted a position with the city of Nanaimo in July.
At this stage there are no further recommendations for restructuring with the exception of re-instating the city's Economic Development Corporation, he continued.
With the exception of one councillor, the majority of council approved the job cuts during an in-camera meeting held Tuesday, Jan. 13, Cobb confirmed.
Initially council gave the human resources manager a list of positions it thought the city could do with without.
"We asked the manager to report back and tell us if it could be done," Cobb said. "When it came to talking and actual evaluation that was done by human resources. We don't do that, we're just the policy makers."