Workshop
Public Comment
From:Moses Johnson
Sent:Friday, December 11, 2020 7:10 AM
To:Public Comment; Theresa Bass; Jim Vanderpool; Linda Andal; Gretchen R. Beatty
Subject:Item: Mid-Year Budget Update on Council agenda Dec 15, 2020
Dear City Clerk,
Please distribute to the City Council and confirm that you received this email.
Dear Mayor and City Council,
Due to the unprecedented, multifaceted COVID-19 response, including the shutdown of
our local economy, the City is facing a revenue shortfall over the next 2 years.
The City is considering LAYING OFF City staff and/or reducing public services, and may
take both actions. Public works services will be adversely affected and there will be more
cuts to many other municipal services.
The crippling impact to the City’s budget will impact residents, businesses and City
workers. The same City workers who have been on the front lines throughout this crisis
working tirelessly to protect and serve our City’s residents will be facing layoffs, and the
community will be hit by cuts to essential services.
Job cuts will not only hurt essential City workers and their families but will adversely affect
their lives as well. The City will cut planners, public works engineers, prosecutors and
other essential local government workers and the core services they deliver. This means
delayed repairs to streets and sidewalks, and limited hours for parks and senior centers,
just to name a few of the core services under threat.
The stakes are too high.
The City should support critical local services and the City workers that provide them.
Council policymakers face a formidable task building the City’s budget for the coming 2
years. While I know there will be tough decisions about how to allocate funds to best
position the City’s recovery, one thing is clear: City workers are essential, both to our
safety and to our recovery.
City workers are the engine of our City, and the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis starts
with them.
The road to recovery will be long and hard but it will be even longer if we let our City
workers go instead of harnessing their vital economic and social strengths. Providing
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funding for City workers is not optional – it is a necessity if we want a vibrant City services
and strong economy.
Please do not layoff City employees. Find another way to balance the budget.
We will work with you to find creative new ways to balance the budget.
Moses Johnson, Acting President AFSCME/MAC
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