All three of the city’s unions have agreed not to take pay raises, saving the 2010-11 Thousand Oaks general fund budget $1.2 million.

The Thousand Oaks City Employees Association voted last week to defer their 3 percent salary increases for six months to help bridge the $4.7- million gap in the budget.

The city’s other two bargaining units had already voted for salary freezes.

“I’m really proud of what employees have done to support the city,” said human resources director Connie Hickman.

Due to tightening of the city’s budget, 36 employee positions needed to be cut from the general fund budget. Of those, 26 took an early retirement incentive program offer. Of the 10 positions still under the ax, three were already vacant. That left seven occupied positions.

Two of those workers, who weren’t eligible for the early retirement incentives, have decided to retire July 1.

Two employees in the five positions that will be marked for layoffs may end up keeping their jobs by “bumping” less experienced employees out of their jobs, Hickman said.

It works similar to musical chairs. A former clerk who got promoted to secretary can move back into the clerk position if the secretary position is cut. Then, if the newly “bumped” clerk once occupied a lower position, he or she can return to that job, leaving the person in the lower position without a job.

Four slots are currently open at the city: two water maintenance workers, one street maintenance worker and one landscaper.

“All the positions available are labor-intensive,” Hickman said. “Not everyone can fill such physically difficult positions.”

Once employees are notified their jobs have been eliminated, they can go to human resources and talk about bumping or applying for other positions.

No matter what the outcome for individuals will be, the salaries of seven positions must be removed from the general fund by July 9.

The employee contract negotiations will go before the City Council at its Tues., June 22 meeting.