Cary lays off employees, implements money-saving tactics

The sputtering economy has touched down on Cary once again, forcing the village to eliminate positions for the first time in recent memory.

A deputy village clerk and two public works maintenance employees are being laid off because of ongoing revenue shortfalls, said Village Administrator Cameron Davis.

If the economy rebounds, the public works employees will have the first crack at jobs, Davis said.

The village also is leaving vacant three other positions and is ending 24-hour front desk coverage at its police station.

The village's four department heads are forgoing their two-percent cost of living increase until further notice, Davis said, and officials will trim overtime and other budget items.

In all, the cuts are expected to save more than $500,000, Davis said. Employees comprise nearly 70 percent of the village's $6.9 million budget.

"When personnel and benefits are your single expense item, that's what's affected the most when there's a downturn in the economy," Davis said. "Over the course of this past fiscal year, we've downsized quite a bit."

The village board approved the cuts earlier this month, and with 73 employees as opposed to 82 workers, Cary now is at staffing levels it has not seen in 15 years.

Late last year to save $200,000, the village closed three vacant positions and eliminated an intern program for graduate students at Northern Illinois University's public administration program.

But with revenues continuing to fall, those moves were not enough, leading to another round of cost-cutting measures.

Davis could not predict whether more cuts would follow.

"It depends on what happens with the economy," he said.