The Dallas Morning News gives a recap of last night's Council meeting and some of the build-up in an article today. It does a nice job of expanding the information in my post earlier today.
 

From the Dallas Morning News:

Garland City Council OKs budget that cuts workers' pay 1.15%

07:07 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 2, 2009
By RAY LESZCYNSKI / The Dallas Morning News
rleszcynski@dallasnews.com
 
These are hard times, and city employees are all in this together. That's been the battle cry throughout the 2009-10 Garland budget process, but the City Council applied the phrase literally Tuesday night.
 
City Manager Bill Dollar proposed a budget that required all city employees to give up 1.15 percent of their pay, their step raises and their bilingual pay.

Garland budget at a glance   • 2009-2010 operating budget: $560.7 million, including publicly owned utility, Garland Power & Light   • 1.15 percent pay reduction for all city employees   • No funds allocated for the Star Spangled Fourth   • The city's tax rate will increase 0.7 percent, from 69.96 cents to 70.46 cents per $100 valuation. The city says the increase would be $4.60 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home and $6.90 for the owner of a $150,000 home, after accounting for the homestead exemption; the Dallas Central Appraisal District lists the average home value in Garland at $120,537.

 
A plan to give employees compensation time was separated from the proposal before the City Council approved the cuts Tuesday.
 
The 229-member Garland Fire Fighters Association has been outspoken on the cuts, saying it was taking up the issues of the city's entire 2,031-member workforce.
 
But the tables were turned Monday night in the final budget work session.
 
The paid time off all city employees were to receive in exchange for their pay cut was pulled off the table, and the onus to restore it was placed squarely on the fire department.
 
"The last few weeks, you've heard a lot of testimony on the fact that if we go forward with the extra three days off as a result of the 1.15 percent reduction, there is a belief by a number of the fire department that we will be unsafe," Dollar said.
 
"And I in no way want council to vote on safe vs. unsafe. That is not what this budget is about."
 
If the fire department can figure out how to sustain its staffing levels within the next 30 days, all city employees will receive the days off as originally proposed, Dollar said.
 
"It'll either be up or down," he said. "If it will be an issue, we will not do the three days."
 
All other tenets of the originally proposed budget went through without change, including a half-cent increase in the tax rate for debt service.
 
On Monday, the council came within a single vote of preserving the bilingual pay for 41 police and fire employees. About 150 employees currently receive the benefit.
 
"I can't see giving it to two groups and taking it away from everybody else," said council member Preston Edwards who, thanks to his seat at the end of the table, cast the deciding vote.
 
A more resounding defeat was given to the notion of rebudgeting the city's Star Spangled Fourth celebration, even though the proposal to spend $40,000 was a far cry from the $101,703 that was deemed available or the $240,000 the city had spent in past years.
 
"I cannot in good conscience cut anybody's salary and then go out and spend money in this manner," council member Barbara Chick said.
 
The festival could come up at a later date and several council members still seem open to the idea, particularly if private funding or sponsorships became available.
 
Representatives of Firewheel Town Center spoke during the budget process and expressed an interest in hosting the event again.
 
And Mayor Pro Tem Laura Cox pointed to the potential of the community-driven party hosted last July 4 on the downtown square.