YOUNGSTOWN — As city officials work to make up a projected $2.5 million deficit in this year’s general fund, Mayor Jay Williams said layoffs are highly unlikely.
“There aren’t a whole lot of places to cut without bringing departments to a halt,” Williams said. “Also, layoffs are an inefficient tool [to balance the budget] because of unemployment insurance.”
But Councilman Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd and chairman of its finance committee, said, “Layoffs are definitely an option. Layoffs are on the table. The greatest cost is personnel.”
City council has had budget hearings for more than two weeks with various departments. The final hearing is Thursday.
Council will then meet at 4 p.m. March 31 to OK the 2010 budget.
For the complete story, see Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com
Comments
These are your last four years in office Mayor. Make the tough choices now. There is always fat to trim and if those hard choices are made now we can save all that much more money.
the clerk of courts is one of the most overstaffed departments out there, but that will never get cut
High taxes, low service. Is that the recipe for moving Youngstown into the future? If the city were interested in operating properly these cuts would already be made.