Video of city council meeting available here (you can skip to the part you want) later on Wednesday.

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In a unilateral display of determination, the Redding City Council and senior staff on Tuesday night discussed pointedly the importance of public employees and their unions being willing to make financial commitments and sacrifices in this down economy.

Mayor Mary Stegall, who said she was probably the most union-supportive member of the group, made it clear that the pain of financial cutbacks in the next few weeks must include every aspect of city government.  Otherwise, it was agreed, layoffs will be inevitable.

The city is looking to trim $3 million from its expense budget. It has already made a set of overall cuts and now is going back for more.

A budget workshop is penciled in for Dec. 16 at 9 a.m.  The cost-cutting guidelines are here (at the top of the page are places to increase the type size for readability and to go to the next page).

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The City Council did indeed approve the top two senior staff member’s recommendation that they forfeit their raises from earlier in the year and postpone next year’s raises as well. City Manager Kurt Starman and City Attorney Rick Duvernay, the only two positions the council hires directly, volunteered the action in the spirit of sharing the pain. It’ll save the city upwards of $20,000.

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During the public comment portion of Tuesday night’s meeting, Redding attorney Jeff Swanson offered what he called a bit of good news. He said NorCal Investment Partners, which he represents, is offering to give the city 35 acres near  the Oasis Park/I-5 interchange at the north end of Redding in the next year in hopes of jump-starting retail development activity.  NorCal was formerly Thomason Development, which has been working on such a development for years.

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It’s official: Missy McArthur and Dick Dickerson are the top vote-getters for Redding City Council’s two open seats, the Shasta County elections office said Tuesday. Click here for all the hairy details. That leaves incumbent Ken Murray (who is traveling in China) and five other contenders disappointed. McArthur and Dickerson will be sworn in Dec. 2.