MAUMEE, Ohio — Maumee Mayor Richard Carr signed an emergency order Friday evening calling for a reduction of the city's workforce in the midst of a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a spokesperson for the union representing city service workers.
The order obtained by WTOL 11 lists a proposed plan to lay off 19 employees, including one lieutenant, three patrolmen, one clerk and one animal control officer from the Maumee Police Division; one commissioner, two laborers, four equipment operators and two supervisors from the Maumee Department of Public Service; one bureau chief and one fire inspector from the Maumee Division of Fire; one tax department clerk from the Maumee Finance Department; and one administrative assistant from the general city staff. Some of those proposed cuts could be made through attrition.
"This could be far more significant than just the loss of revenue from COVID, it's to how the country will react to this. You know, there's some speculation about a recession and if that's the case this becomes a very long-term problem," Carr said.
Maumee City Councilwoman Tracey Elmore told WTOL 11, "nothing is set in stone" and the city is "waiting to hear from the unions."
Elmore explained the city has been examining the situation for weeks and has determined cuts need to be made. She said the order has been sent to the unions to create a dialogue.
Elmore added the city council held a special meeting Thursday during which personnel issues will be discussed in the executive session.
"There's no state law or federal law that supersedes our contract and we believe that we have a binding and legal contract, and we're going to do everything we can to protect the integrity of that contract," Jackie Wegman with the Fraternal Order of Police said. "The livelihood of our members, we're going to protect our members and make sure the city follows the contract."
Carr says the job cuts will not affect police street presence, the current school resource officers, or paramedic staffing.
The initial proposal presented was to lay off 37 to 52 people, but Carr said they dropped that number to 19 after reducing other city employees' hours.
Mayor Carr said it's a tough decision other cities will soon be making as well.
"Well when those layoffs come in, it affects the income for your municipalities. And unfortunately, you can't just say, I'm going to go out and raise taxes on the same residents who are the ones who are out of work," he said.
However, union officials said the decision was not fair.
"My bottom line is that I'm concerned when we talk about terminations, when we talk about layoffs, we make sure there are no other alternatives. And if there are going to be layoffs and terminations, they should make sure that the burden is shared equally among all the city employees," Staff Representative at AFSCME Ohio Council 8 David Blythe said.
Facts not fear: Putting COVID-19 into context
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