Wilkes-Barre city employees will know by the end of the week if their
jobs are safe from furloughs during the final six weeks of the year,
city officials said Wednesday.
In October, the city asked its nearly 300 employees to take voluntary furloughs to patch a $2 million deficit. But the number of employees who accepted them by last Friday's deadline was not enough to solve the city's budget woes, forcing the city to resort to mandatory furloughs, city spokesman Drew McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said officials are still determining how they can reduce the work force without diminishing services. The city will make a public announcement by Friday, McLaughlin said.
The city's deficit is primarily rooted in outstanding tax revenue owed by former county collector Centax, along with shortfalls in its projected revenue. Although the city has received $400,000 from Centax during the last several weeks, the now-defunct company still owes $1.3 million. McLaughlin said officials from H.A. Berkheimer, the company now in charge of collecting the tax, told the city they expect to gain access to the Centax accounts holding the city's money "within the next few weeks," a major step in the payment process.
City administrator Marie McCormick said she remains optimistic the city will be paid in full before the year's end. But the money won't arrive in time to prevent the furloughs and restructuring of the city's employment that Mayor Tom Leighton warned of last month in his budget proposal.
"We're definitely going to restructure, that is a given," McLaughlin said. Restructuring could include layoffs, McLaughlin said, but doesn't necessarily guarantee them. Any long-term changes to the work force will be attached to the 2013 budget and announced as city council and the mayor finalize it over the next few weeks, McLaughlin said.
In the immediate future, the city will temporarily reduce its work force in an attempt to shave the $1.77 million in salaries it will have to pay during the final six weeks of the year. McCormick said provisions in collective bargaining agreements with the four unions that represent city employees - like seniority and minimum-manning rules - will play a significant role in determining what jobs can be furloughed. For example, employees with higher seniority, and thus higher pay, generally are better protected, McCormick said.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/w-b-officials-to-announce-mandatory-layoffs-1.1400315
In October, the city asked its nearly 300 employees to take voluntary furloughs to patch a $2 million deficit. But the number of employees who accepted them by last Friday's deadline was not enough to solve the city's budget woes, forcing the city to resort to mandatory furloughs, city spokesman Drew McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said officials are still determining how they can reduce the work force without diminishing services. The city will make a public announcement by Friday, McLaughlin said.
The city's deficit is primarily rooted in outstanding tax revenue owed by former county collector Centax, along with shortfalls in its projected revenue. Although the city has received $400,000 from Centax during the last several weeks, the now-defunct company still owes $1.3 million. McLaughlin said officials from H.A. Berkheimer, the company now in charge of collecting the tax, told the city they expect to gain access to the Centax accounts holding the city's money "within the next few weeks," a major step in the payment process.
City administrator Marie McCormick said she remains optimistic the city will be paid in full before the year's end. But the money won't arrive in time to prevent the furloughs and restructuring of the city's employment that Mayor Tom Leighton warned of last month in his budget proposal.
"We're definitely going to restructure, that is a given," McLaughlin said. Restructuring could include layoffs, McLaughlin said, but doesn't necessarily guarantee them. Any long-term changes to the work force will be attached to the 2013 budget and announced as city council and the mayor finalize it over the next few weeks, McLaughlin said.
In the immediate future, the city will temporarily reduce its work force in an attempt to shave the $1.77 million in salaries it will have to pay during the final six weeks of the year. McCormick said provisions in collective bargaining agreements with the four unions that represent city employees - like seniority and minimum-manning rules - will play a significant role in determining what jobs can be furloughed. For example, employees with higher seniority, and thus higher pay, generally are better protected, McCormick said.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/w-b-officials-to-announce-mandatory-layoffs-1.1400315
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