Elijah said August will be a transition month for the agency as it moves from 47 employees to 34 by Aug. 31, while gearing up for its Sept. 9 campaign kickoff.
Elijah said in May that the agency had cut $500,000 in administrative costs in the last year, which included the elimination of two jobs. He said at that time he was looking at another $300,000 in cuts to reach a $2.8 million budget the board approved for the new fiscal year. The budget has been reduced by 26 percent from the prior fiscal year, he said.
United Way officials said Thursday that 12 employees have taken advantage of the exit incentive program to pursue retirement, advanced education or other career opportunities. Those employees include an AFL-CIO community services assistant, campaign assistant, campaign manager, central duplicating operator, community incentives director, community partnerships assistant, executive administrative assistant, marketing associate, Preble County director (continuing on contract through March 2010), staff accountant operations, finance department employee and Volunteer Connection manager. Another employee who works in building maintenance also has taken another job, a United Way official said.
“The Volunteer Connection Manager position and a few other redefined positions will be filled. Most of the staff reductions will be permanent until the economy and United Way campaign rebounds,” Elijah wrote in a statement sent in response to questions from the Dayton Daily News about the staff reductions.
In May, the board approved cuts to 44 health and human service programs after its fund-raising campaign raised $9.5 million — $2.5 million short of its $12 million goal.
Allocations to partner agency programs for the fiscal year that started July 1 were reduced $1.3 million, or 24 percent, from last year’s $5.6 million.
“Some reduction in services will be an unfortunate painful reality until the United Way campaign rebounds to a point where allocations can be returned to their pre-2007 levels,” Elijah said at that time.
On Thursday, he said, “As part of our ongoing commitment to provide the maximum dollars for services, United Way has reduced its operating budget at a higher percentage than the cuts to the funded agencies this year...”
About the Author