Aurora layoffs start this morning, sources say
Aurora officials are bracing for "extensive involuntary layoffs" beginning this morning as city employees arrive for work, sources with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.
Mayor Thomas Weisner and his chiefs of staff alerted aldermen to the looming layoffs during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, the sources said.
In the wake of the staff reductions, department and division heads are expected to meet Friday morning to discuss a citywide reorganization and consolidation of key departments.
Just last week, Finance Director Brian Caputo updated aldermen on the city's midyear financial status and projected a $5.6 million general fund shortfall this year. All but $1.6 million of that will be covered by roughly $4 million in fund balances left from last year.
He also predicted a $19 million shortfall in 2010 if the city doesn't cut expenses. Despite that, sources said Thursday's cuts, at an average of $77,000 per employee, would not likely bridge that gap.
Caputo said Aurora has seen significant declines in most revenue sources. He said year-to-date state-shared sales tax revenues are down almost 10.2 percent and home-rule sales tax revenues are down 11 percent from last year.
In addition, real estate transfer tax revenues are down from $5 million in 2006 to about $1.2 million this year, and gambling tax revenues have fallen from a high of $16.3 million in 2002 to about $12 million in 2009.
Last year, the city enacted a hiring freeze for all nonessential personnel, eliminated most travel and conferences, and cut nonpersonnel expenses in nearly every department.
Earlier this summer, the city agreed to voluntary separation packages for 37 employees, saving more than $3 million.
Last month, the city's roughly 200 nonunion employees were told they will be required to take five furlough days over the remainder of this year and 10 furlough days next year. That move was expected to save about $760,000. Weisner also froze his salary through April 2011 and said he won't seek pay raises for nonunion employees in the 2010 budget.
The same sources said the city is in the early stages of negotiating concessions with police, fire and public works personnel but have so far made little to no progress.