Another Miami Emergency

Miami City Manager Johnny Martinez Monday declared a financial urgency to open new talks on collective bargaining agreements with four unions covering police, fire fighters and city workers.

The declaration, allowed by state law, gives the city 14 days to conduct talks in a bid to obtain new contracts that cut benefits. If they fail, the city could impose cuts as part of a strategy to plug a projected $60 million deficit in fiscal 2012.

It’s the second year that Miami used the financial urgency statute to extract concessions. For the current budget, commissioners cut contracts by $80 million.Some unions have threatened to begin an effort to recall Mayor Tomás Regalado, though it’s not clear whether there are recall provisions for mayor.

The city is also weighing eliminating 372 jobs, though most, if not all, are vacant, as well as furloughs, cutting back on holidays and other measures.

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