156 public employees furloughed as southwestern Illinois cities feel coronavirus pinch
Fairview Heights Mayor Mark Kupsky said 126 city employees will be furloughed beginning on April 6, as economic damage from the coronavirus extends beyond private businesses to local city governments.
“Once the governor made the decision to extend (the stay-at-home order), we did announce furloughs,” said Kupsky. “I asked all of our department directors to look at positions that were deemed not critical.”
Nearly all of the furloughed city employees in Fairview Heights are part-time workers at places that have been closed under Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. The majority of Fairview Heights’ cuts are at the community’s recreation center.
The furloughs have no expiration date, in case the stay-at-home order is extended.
“There’s no end date because we didn’t want to set false expectations with anyone, should this be extended,” Kupsky said.
The coronavirus outbreak has shuttered businesses around the region and nation, cutting off a vital stream of sales tax revenue. More than any city in the metro-east, Fairview Heights relies heavily on sales tax as its primary source of public dollars.
“Cities like Fairview Heights will face tougher decisions due to loss of income during this time as well as loss of future income because of businesses and other contributors to tax bases that don’t survive the times we’re going through,” Kupsky said.
Other cities around the Metro East also have furloughed some public employees. The city of Edwardsville furloughed 30 city employees from April 8 to April 30. Edwardsville made the cuts to ensure financial stability amid the coronavirus outbreak, City Administrator Kevin Head said.
The furloughed employees work in the city’s libraries, the Wildey Theatre, and the public access television channel, which broadcasts governmental meetings
“We’re no longer uploading information because all our meetings have been canceled except for council and one of our committees,” Head said. “There’s just not work for them to be doing right now.”
Head added a second phase of furloughs may happen has other staff that cannot work from home run out of tasks.
Both Edwardsville and Fairview Heights plan to bring back any employees that are currently furloughed after the pandemic ends. In the meantime, they will retrain their medical benefits, Kupsky and Head confirmed.
There were no official furloughs in Collinsville, although part-time city workers at the Gateway Convention Center are not working right now, said assistant city manager Derek Jackson.
Spokespeople for Belleville and O’Fallon said the cities were not furloughing employees, nor are the cities considering that as an option yet.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
