TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz says more than 300 city employees will be placed on temporary emergency leave on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic and how it is affected the city of Toledo.
Mayor Kapszukiewicz says Toledo is facing a $25 million deficit when just a short time ago there was a surplus due to the precautions that had to be taken to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Another big part of the deficit is due to the fact that the city is funded by payroll income tax, while most cities around the country are funded by sales or property tax. When people aren't going to work, income isn't being generated the way it was.
Because of this, the mayor says 326 city employees will be place on temporary emergency leave.
Due to the COVID-19 impacts on the economy, revenue is projected to fall well short of the budget. The city’s general fund is projected to fall short of the budget and projections by $25 million to $50 million by the end of 2021.
The number of staff affected by department is as follows:
- Mayor’s Office: 1
- Fire: 13
- Police: 12
- Public Utilities: 108
- Public Service: 141
- Human Resources: 3
- Finance: 12
- Information, Communication, and Technology: 2
- Diversity and Inclusion: 2
- Neighborhoods: 25
- Law: 2
- Building Inspection: 2
- Plan Commission: 3
Mayor Kapszukiewicz says these are not layoffs and will be reevaluated every 30 days. As the economy improves, he hopes the employees will be able to be welcomed back into their jobs.
The mayor says Toledo is one of the last cities to do so; Kapszukiewicz says Cincinnati recently did the same with 1,500 employees, and Akron and Dayton did the same with 600 employees.
"We didn't chose this," Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. "Fate chose us."
Police and fire individuals are also affected by the temporary emergency leave, but Mayor Kapszukiewicz stresses that no one in uniform is being put on leave. The mayor says they are not close to considering putting any uniformed personnel on temporary emergency leave.
The employees will be filing for unemployment during this time.
The mayor says the employees chosen to be put on leave haven't done anything wrong; it's just a hard decision the city has to make.
"Any attempt to be serious about this has to involve cuts in expenditures," Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.
The mayor said the employees being put on leave will find out who they are by the end of the day on Thursday.
"I look forward to the days when we can welcome these employees back," said Mayor Kapszukiewicz.
The mayor stresses there will be no reduction in the services the city provides. However, service may be slower and less frequent during this time.
The mayor also touched on the construction of the Ozone Treatment Facility at the Collins Park Plant, saying it will be completed, it's just unsure when.
Mayor Kapszukiewicz said Toledo water still remains some of the best in the country.
The mayor says Toledo will bounce back, but it will take a long time.
"This administration has turned the deficit into surplus once before, so I know we can do it again, but we'll have to start over," said Mayor Kapszukiewicz.
The mayor calls this a tough, but necessary day to getting the city back on track.
RELATED: Mayor Kapszukiewicz says there is no shortage of COVID-19 testing for first responders in Lucas Co.
Facts not fear: Putting COVID-19 into context
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