Youngstown, like all local communities, most certainly will be seeing significant loss of tax revenue and other financial problems triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are pleased to see the city taking steps to begin curtailing spending by seeking voluntary furloughs. This is a good place to start, but we encourage city leaders to be prepared to make difficult decisions involving forced layoffs and significant cuts in other spending.

Youngstown leaders announced last week that they are seeking voluntary furloughs from 7 to 10 percent of city workers, or at least about 72 of the city’s 715 workers. The city saves $4,000 per employee on average per month if the furloughs are accepted, Youngstown interim Finance Director Kyle Miasek told The Vindicator. The layoffs will last until June 30 and then be reviewed to see if they would be extended for another month.

The furloughs won’t include firefighters, police officers, 911 department and sanitation workers.

We think the attempt to cut payroll spending is a step in the right direction, but we have skepticism about the number of workers who might volunteer.

Those taking the furloughs will be able to keep their medical coverage, while paying their 10 percent premiums, and are guaranteed that they won’t last any longer than July 31. Employees who take volunteer furloughs are eligible for state unemployment and those who make under $50,000 annually are also eligible for an additional $600 weekly in unemployment from the federal government through the CARES Act, Miasek said. In some cases, employees will make more money on unemployment than they do working, he acknowledged.

It sounds enticing, but furloughed workers will not accrue sick and vacation time while they are off, and the city will stop paying into the pension plans of those who stop working while they’re off. Also, because of a break in service, employees will lose a year of longevity pay.

We encourage workers to step up, and we applaud the city for taking these cost-cutting steps. Still, city leaders must also be prepared to reassess and consider forced layoffs and other cuts as needed.

Nearly every private industry in the nation is seeing a need for cutbacks and cost savings as the COVID-19 virus continues to affect our health and our economy.

We are more than a month into these days of social distancing coupled with orders that are keeping many Americans out of the public spectrum, triggering furloughs of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.

It has been more than a month since Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued his orders, and that already was weeks into the pandemic sweeping through our state and the Mahoning Valley.

It’s been just as long since Southern Park and Eastwood malls accordingly announced that all nonessential businesses there would be closed. Countywide, most local retailers, car dealers, restaurants and other businesses followed suit.

All these closures will have a drastic effect on our local economy, driving down sales tax revenue for both state and local governments. Additionally, with the growing numbers of joblessness triggered by COVID-19, income tax revenue also will decrease drastically.

Likewise, courts are collecting less in fines, costs and fees, and fewer building permits are being pulled. Travel has halted, meaning hotel bed tax revenue will be virtually nonexistent, and gasoline tax collections will be reduced.

It doesn’t take an expert economist to understand this health crisis will have a drastic adverse effect on local government.

There is little room to delay spending cuts. By comparison, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered that all state offices develop plans to cut spending by at least 20 percent.

Indeed, these are difficult times. Our elected leaders have been elected to make hard decisions in representation of their constituents – the taxpayers who likewise are facing their own personal challenges. They must be prepared to do that.

editorial@tribtoday.com

SCRIPTURE

For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

I Thessalonians 4:14 NLT