MORGANTOWN — With the City of Morgantown facing millions in lost revenue due to efforts aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, city employees have been asked to consider temporary, voluntary reductions in salary or hours in an attempt to prevent future layoffs.
In an email that went out to city employees on Monday, Assistant City Manager — soon to be interim city manager — Emily Muzzarelli explains that more than $3 million in cuts to department budgets for the upcoming 2021 fiscal year are coming before city council.
That budget amendment is on tonight’s council agenda.
Muzzarelli notes those reductions — which eliminate a list of expenditures, a few of which include cost of living raises, overtime and new positions in code enforcement and urban landscaping — may not be enough to avoid staff cuts.
“It is our last choice to have to lay off a single employee,” the email states.
Communications Manager Andrew Stacy explained the city has also put a freeze on all non-essential spending, all hiring and raises have been put on hold, as have most capital improvement projects.
As an effort to avoid layoffs, hourly, or non-exempt employees can choose reduced work hours, and thus pay, by one-half day, one full day or one-half week for a six month period.
The email explains that most full-time benefits — health insurance, pension eligible time, life insurance and leave accrual — will remain intact. Exercising this option will not impact an employee’s retirement date.
Salaried employees can choose temporary reductions in pay of 2.5%, 5% or 10%. Work hours would remain the same, but employees who take the reductions would be granted additional vacation and sick leave commensurate with the percentage of salary cut.
“If you are financially in a position to take a temporary pay cut, this may help the City keep all of our employees on payroll,” the email explains.
Employees have until Friday to contact HR if interested. Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must come with the approval of the employee’s supervisor.
Additionally, the correspondence encourages retirement-eligible employees to consider retirement, potentially saving another employee from being laid off.
Stacy said the city would consider a best case scenario to be return toward normalcy by mid-May. Worst case scenario, the COVID-19 lockdown stretches into the summer, or even fall.
Either way, he said, the $3.1 million in anticipated losses very likely isn’t the end of it.
“This was the first of what is anticipated to be several amendments to the budget in the coming months,” Stacy said.
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