ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Cities across the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region have begun furloughing nonessential workers to cut costs ahead of daunting projections for the pandemic’s crushing blow to tax revenue.
Several cities have announced hiring freezes, slashed seasonal work force and cut part-time and full-time employees in hopes of surviving new economic realities amid the spread of the coronavirus.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County governments have not furloughed employees but they have implemented hiring freezes. Chesterfield on Thursday announced indefinite furloughs for 63 city employees — nearly all full time — across the parks, public works, police and other departments. City leaders were negotiating a 10% across-the-board pay cut for police to stave off furloughs of 20 officers.
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“It’s going to be really painful,†said Mike Geisel, Chesterfield’s city administrator. “We’ve already delayed and deferred a lot of capital projects, but you can’t save your way out of this.â€
Sales tax is the budgetary backbone for most of the 100-plus cities in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region. With millions ordered to stay home and thus spending less locally, cities across Missouri are bracing for a dramatic drop in revenue and looking for ways to save now. Missouri, in particular, could be especially vulnerable because it is one of only two states that doesn’t collect tax from online shopping.
Des Peres City Administrator Douglas Harms said the city’s 154 part-time employees, most of whom staff the city’s recreational complex, began furloughs on Sunday. The city’s more than 100 full-time staff are still being paid, he said, and officials plan to meet later this month to decide when to reopen the complex and bring back part timers.
“We’re like a business,†Harms said. “We’ve got expenses and we’re not getting revenue in, and at some point you run out of money.â€
Brentwood and Richmond Heights, each heavily dependent on sales tax revenue from large retailers, furloughed all part-time workers this month without return dates, totaling more than 100 positions combined, primarily from recreational centers, officials said.
Richmond Heights City Manager Amy Hamilton said that with tax receipts not due for a couple of months, uncertain revenue projections put additional pressure on planning next year’s budget, which begins July 1.
“I think it’ll be many months before we have any idea what the future impact is going to be,†Hamilton said.
St. Ann City Administrator Matt Conley said the city this week furloughed more than 20 employees including community center staff, police and jailers. He was critical of the $2.2 trillion federal stimulus bill for providing no relief to smaller cities and is concerned about Missouri’s inability to collect sales tax from online purchases.
“Everybody going and buying on Amazon doesn’t bring in any money,†he said. “It’s a whole ugly cesspool of factors that have all hit at once.â€
In Illinois, officials from the cities of Edwardsville and Fairview Heights said Thursday that they, too, have begun furloughing workers.
Fairview Heights Mayor Mark Kupsky said the city on Sunday began furloughing 126 part-time employees — the vast majority from the community recreation center — with no expiration date.
“We look forward to resuming operations and getting people back to work,†Kupsky said.
Edwardsville this week furloughed 30 employees who staff its library, theater and television station, City Administrator Kevin Head said.
Pat Kelly, executive director the Municipal League of Metro ºüÀêÊÓƵ, said cities heavily reliant on sales tax revenue are preparing now for hard times ahead.
“They don’t know the extent of the shortfalls yet but know there’s going to be some, and you can’t just wait until the last minute to make those decisions,†Kelly said. “It’s a matter of trying to be prudent now so that when things start coming back, we’ll be able to provide those services.â€