Jan 5, 2009 11:18 pm US/Pacific
Lincoln City Workers Facing Layoffs This Week
LINCOLN (CBS13) ―
Lincoln is the latest city in the region to face a wave of layoffs, and city workers, including police and firefighters, have been notified that their jobs could be gone.
What was once one of California's fastest growing cities is now racking up substantial debt, and city leaders say layoffs may be in the works as early as this week.
"We don't have enough money to provide the same level of service as we have in the past," said city councilman Tom Cosgrove. "I think [layoffs] are the toughest. They're also the last resort."
To trim the $1.5 million deficit, the city is cutting $400,000 by not filling vacant jobs, eliminating overtime and reducing janitorial services, but Lincoln is still in the red. The city manager started meeting with labor unions at the end of December, looking for concessions like pay cuts and furloughs in hopes to save as many jobs as possible.
The city manager will meet with the Mayor and Council on Thursday to outline the trail of red ink and discuss the possible pink slips that would be the city's next step.
"In the end, we're going to try to avoid those as much as possible," Cosgrove said, but admitted that they won't know if they'll avoid them altogether until the meeting on Thursday.
With the state's deadlocked budget battle, cities like Lincoln could be locked out of more money, which means these troubles could be just the beginning.
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