SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico’s capital city is weighing a series of cost-cutting measures to address a budget deficit as tax revenue and other income take a dive amid the economic shock wave that has resulted from the coronavirus outbreak.
The belt-tightening includes furloughs for all city of Santa Fe workers except front-line public safety employees. The furloughs are projected to save $1.43 million, or just 3% of the gap the city needs to close over the next two months.
Gross receipts tax revenue accounts for about 70% of the city’s general fund budget, which pays for day-to-day operations. Disbursements from the state lag by two months, leaving the city looking for ways to make ends meet. Overall, the city is estimating a $46 million budget deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30.
The reduction in hours and how they would be divvied up among the workforce is turning out to be one of the bigger headaches for the mayor, who has enjoyed a fairly cushy relationship with city employees until now, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Union leaders aren’t happy with the mayor, calling into question statements made by Mayor Alan Webber that “everyone is being asked to sacrifice.”
“We had a plan, and our plan was for management to take a bigger cut,” said Gilbert Baca, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 18, which represents nearly 700 of the city’s estimated 1,332 employees.
Baca said high-level employees make more and could shoulder a bigger financial burden.
Carla Vigil, a parking enforcement officer, has been told to expect a furlough of 16 hours a week. A single mother, she said she’s worried about her son’s future and what life is going to be like during and after the pandemic.
“I’ve worked so long to have this stability to provide a better life for my son, Santiago, and now there’s an uncertainty that makes me sick to my stomach,” she said.
Under the mayor’s proposed furlough plan, each AFSCME member will be furloughed. Some employees will see a reduction of four hours a week while others, such as Vigil, will be furloughed for 16 hours.
The city said employees whose workplaces are closed or whose functions have ceased amid the pandemic are facing the bigger furloughs.
“The mayor, city manager, and human resources team worked closely with unions and departments to identify positions that either cannot work because their facility is closed … or are unable to work at full capacity from home,” the city said in a statement. “We cannot spend money we don’t have on jobs that don’t currently exist.”
During a recent webcast, Webber said the city tried to develop a plan to protect all workers.
“Rather than laying people off, we’ve approached this with a proposal for furloughs,” he said.
Other cost-cutting measures the City Council will consider Wednesday include a hiring freeze on nonessential personnel and a spending freeze that will generate about $25 million in savings. The city also let 41 temporary workers go.
If approved by the council, the furloughs would go into effect May 6.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.