CALUMET CITY | The City Council's finance committee will meet today to consider a series of potential cuts in municipal spending, including the layoff of 11 police officers.

Cuts are proposed for just about every city department, including the Police Department, which is expected to save the city $581,376 for the remainder of the fiscal year that runs through April 30.

The finance committee must recommend the changes, and the full City Council must approve them before any cuts can take effect.

Tom Mannix, a spokesman for Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush, said the layoffs and cuts are not yet set.

"These are proposals at this point," Mannix said. "They are something that will be considered by the City Council, but they would have to approve them before anything is definite."

This is the second time in the past five months that police officers have faced layoffs as part of an effort to bring city finances under control.

Seven patrol officers were laid off in October, only to be rehired two weeks later after negative community reaction. Municipal officials said at that time, the layoffs were necessary because they were unable to reach agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police.

If the cuts go through, those seven officers, who are the least senior members of the department, would again be laid off, along with four other officers who have yet to be identified.

Aside from the police layoffs, a memorandum from Qualkinbush’s office to announce the special meeting indicates other potential cuts include cuts in salaries for many top agency positions.

Some of those cuts include reducing the salaries of the Department of Inspectional Services director from $73,757 to $67,000, and the Health, Youth & Family Services director from $67,578 to $57,000.

Other changes include the reduction of an electrical inspector’s position from full time to part time, going from a salary of $54,848 to $25,052.

There also are proposed cuts of gas allowances for the city clerk’s office and finance department, which could save $3,000, and the elimination of cellular phones for city employees outside of the police and fire departments.

If you go

A special meeting of the Calumet City finance committee to discuss proposed layoffs and other budget cuts will be at 6 p.m. today at City Hall, 204 Pulaski Road.