Additional Manteca municipal workers may lose their jobs.

How many layoffs - if any - depend upon how negotiations go with the remaining three employee bargaining groups.

The city reached an agreement with three bargaining units so far. Those deals prevented the layoff of six firefighters. Nine other municipal workers, though, were laid off July 1.

Assistant City Manager Karen McLaughlin noted the city is close to reaching an agreement with mid-management employees. Also still in negotiations are the Operating Engineers No. 3 and the Tech & Support Service units

Concessions are needed from all employee groups to bridge a $4.2 million general fund budget gap that was projected for the fiscal year that started July 1.

City Manager Steve Pinkerton has noted the city - barring the state taking money or some other unforeseen development - should be able to go four years after cuts are made this year without worrying about additional cutbacks. That is based on property and sales tax revenue not decreasing in the coming years.

In 2009 when Manteca started rethinking how to deliver services to reduce costs, the anticipated deficit for the 2011-12 fiscal year was projected at $14.1 million if Manteca didn’t change its spending patterns. Savings put in place by reducing employees and the remaining workers stepping up to find more ways to do their jobs more efficiently reduced the upcoming projected deficit to $4.2 million.