Northville, a medium-sized city in the midwestern part of the United States, has experienced a significant change in the composition of its municipal work force of 1,800 employees. Approximately thirty-five percent of the city employees are now female. In a recent survey of city employees, over forty percent have said that "affordable daycare for children" was important to them. Meanwhile Director of the Office of Personnel Mary Lux has become increasingly convinced that the lack of affordable daycare is one of the main reasons for absenteeism and lateness among city employees. Mayor Petula Spark, some of the members of the city council, and the leader of the major city employees' union, Denardo Legato, all agree that something should be done. The question they are trying to answer is, what should it be? Mayor Spark is in favor of doing something, in principle, but she is not in favor of incurring a major new expense, given the many legitimate claims on the city's already strained budget. She has told Legato, who is negotiating the daycare program on behalf of the city employees, "Well give you space and utilities for a year at no cost. It is up to you to come up with a suitable daycare center that conforms to state and federal law." Several regulatory mandates and non-discrimination laws fall into this category. The only requirements specific to daycare centers are that (a) they be licensed and inspected once a year, (b) all new daycare workers take part in a three day state-certified training program and (c) the child/daycare giver ratio be no greater than 8 to 1. The annual inspection fee is $500. The total cost of the three-day training program is estimated to be $200 per employee. Mary Lux is responsible for planning the details of the daycare program for the children of city employees. With Mr. Legato's approval, Ms. Lux has negotiated an arrangement with a local non-profit agency that is already providing daycare services in the Northville metropolitan area. Tiny Tots, Inc. has three locations; the contract with the City of Northville would be a fourth center. The Director of Tiny Tots, Klara Nemet, is enthusiastic about the prospects of a new center specifically for city employees. While discussing the proposed arrangements with Ms. Lux, Ms. Nemet said, "We will not need any additional administrative staff, since Ms. Perfekt, my administrative secretary, and I could certainly handle the additional administrative work." Ms. Perfekt earns $1,300 a month. Ms. Nemet's salary is $2,400 a month. Tiny Tots, Inc. also must pay 7.15 percent of their salaries in the form of a social security contribution, 8 percent for unemployment and disability benefits; 6 percent of salaries goes to a pension fund, and $60 per month for health benefits is paid for each of them. These fringe benefits apply to all employees of Tiny Tots, Inc. The additional details of the contract are as follows: the daycare center will be open 20 days every month. Parents pay a monthly fee based on an 8-hour day (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Fees do not vary if less than a full day or less than a month of daycare is used by the parents. Based on projected demand, it is expected that the daycare center will open in January 1997 with 120 children. Ms. Nemet has been successful in negotiating a ratio of 6 children to 1 daycare worker for the first year of operation. Daycare workers earn $6.50 per hour. They work from 9 to 5 and get paid for eight hours. Children get a snack and lunch. The food cost is $3.00 per child per day. The cost of supplies is $1.50 per child per day. The City of Northville has purchased certain equipment (such as cots and desks) for the first 120 children. However, these costs are estimated to increase by $50 per child as the enrollment at the daycare center goes up. For the first four months, it is expected that the number of children will grow by 10 percent, beginning in February 2000. Beginning June 2000, the monthly growth is expected to be 5 percent. Parents pay $200 per month per child. In the first year, Northville is "donating" space and utilities. Ms. Lux says that this city contribution is worth $2,000 a month. Mr. Legato says that the union will contribute to the cost of the city's new daycare center by providing $1.00 per child per day for the children of union members. It is estimated that 70 percent of the children will be children of union members. The state has a subsidized daycare start-up grant for the first year of operation. This grant is $90,000 a year.

QUESTION:

What other changes can be made to balance the budget? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these changes? Produce a balanced budget and defend your choice of changes.