Although City of Hattiesburg administration had no plans of layoffs as little as a month ago, officials are in the process of reducing the city’s workforce after finding out last week that March’s sales tax was $325,000 behind the same period the previous year.
Mayor Toby Barker said Monday that although there is not as of yet a definite number of employees that will be laid off, the measure will affect departments city-wide, primarily from general fund positions. However, sworn police officers, sworn firefighters and dispatch will be exempt.
“So March sales tax numbers, they’re due to (the Mississippi Department of Revenue) by April 20, so we called on the 24th to see where things stood,” Barker said. “It was about a 16 percent shortfall, and there’s a possibility that you could still see some payments coming in before the end of the month, but at that point that’s the bulk of what you’re going to get, because you’re four days past the due date.
“So that’s a 16 percent (shortfall) for March, which that was when we were only closed for half a month. When we think about April being a ‘shelter in place month,’ when most non-essential retail was shut down, we can anticipate that if it was a 16 percent shortfall for one half of March, we’re probably looking at a 30 or 32 percent shortfall for the month of April, because you were shut down the entire month.”
The process for deciding which positions will be dissolved will be based on criteria given to department directors, who will make recommendations to administration. That criteria includes critical nature of the position to the provision of city services; employee attendance and discipline history; experience, professional training, length of service and work assignment; skills and licensure in the area where the city has a requirement; and positions with shared similar duties within an area.
The timeline for the reduction in force includes directors making recommendations this week and notice to be given directly to employees within five to seven days.
Officials expect the workforce reduction to cover some of the revenue shortfalls, but sales tax revenues will continue to be lower that last year’s totals. According to an email from the city, with six months left in the fiscal year – which ends at the end of September – a reduction in force will help the city reduce expenses and possibly alleviate the need for subsequent layoffs.
“Just following a trend, is (revenue) going to immediately bounce back in May? Well, the answer’s no,” Barker said. “So trying to – admittedly, imperfectly – forecast what we could be looking at over the next few months, up until the end of the fiscal year. “This obviously necessitated making some tough decisions now, in order to try to recoup some savings while there were still six months left in the fiscal year. It also gives employees an opportunity to draw some enhanced unemployment benefits because of the (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act as we are trying to take care of all our employees, especially whose positions will be dissolved.”
In late March, Barker said at the time there were no intentions of layoffs in any city departments, although public-facing employees who are over the age of 60 were put on paid administrative leave to minimize their chance of contracting the virus.
In an open letter to the city and its employees, Ward 2 Councilwoman Deborah Delgado said Hattiesburg City Council has responsibility for the city’s budget, and she is concerned that ideas and considerations were not weighed before the layoff decision was announced. Delgado said she had mentioned the possibility of a 15 percent pay cut across the city that would reach the savings goal the layoffs were designed to attain.
“If we are ‘Hattiesburg Strong,’ we need to walk that walk and not just talk the talk,” she said. “In this time of crisis and sacrifice, our employees should not be selectively spotlighted for any greater losses than our leadership and management level employees.
“If there is pain that must be borne in this space, we all should be willing to shoulder that pain. An across the board pay cut would enable the city to continue to operate at a maximum capacity and keep the personnel we have intact. Trying to hire people back after we get past this crisis is fraught with unknowns that can cost us dearly.”
