Lynchburg City Council approves mandatory furlough

A proposal to furlough city staff for 2½ days this spring ignited fierce debate among City Council on Tuesday.

Tempers flared as officials argued over how to approach the mandatory unpaid leave, which will affect some 1,200 public employees.

City Councilman Jeff Helgeson, Ward III, criticized his colleagues for moving ahead with certain capital projects this year as the economy crumbled. He specifically cited the Fifth Street corridor improvements, a project with a current budget of about $1.5 million that Helgeson has consistently opposed.

“Doug Wilder said … responsible leaders should always be able to separate necessities and niceties,” he said. “I think this council has had a little trouble telling the difference.”

Helgeson — who along with Councilman Scott Garrett is seeking the Republican nomination for the 23rd District House of Delegates seat — said the furlough could have been avoided if that spending was cut and called on officials to be “honest” about what happened by naming the furlough motion: “Thank you, Lynchburg City employees, for the Fifth Street roundabout.”

“Let’s title it properly,” he said. “… If we’re going to take food off their tables, let’s thank them for their contribution to this (project).”

His motion, which died due to lack of a second, drew a quick and severe response from Councilman Ceasor Johnson, who’s clashed with Helgeson at several recent meetings.

“This is not the time for that foolishness, Jeff,” Johnson, Ward II, said in an irate tone. “… I don’t know what your political aspirations are, but right now I’m for the citizens. If you want to run for the House of Delegates, do it on your own time. This is too serious for you to use it to grab some camera time.”

The city manager told council last month he was considering proposing a period of unpaid leave in an effort to close a multi-million dollar gap in the current budget.

The 2½-day furlough, which council approved Tuesday following an hour of contentious debate, is expected to save $415,000. For employees, it amounts to a 1 percent pay cut for the year.

The plan calls for most employees to be furloughed one half day the Friday before and one full day after the Easter holiday, creating a three-and-a-half-day weekend. Another one full day furlough will also be imposed the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Certain departments that must remain open, including police and fire, will establish alternate schedules.

The furlough applies to both full- and part-time city staff. Employees were notified of Tuesday’s proposal through a memo sent out just hours before the council meeting.

The resulting salary reductions will be spread out over eight pay periods in order, officials said, to minimize the impact.

“This is certainly not a position we’re taking lightly,” City Manager Kimball Payne said. “We’ve agonized over this for a month now.”

Even with the furlough savings and another $2 million in cuts made in recent weeks, officials are now projecting the city will end the fiscal year with a deficit of $1 million to $1.5 million. Payne noted that local sales tax continues to plummet and any potential windfall from the federal stimulus package appears to apply only to capital expenses.

Revenues are falling faster than costs can be stopped, he said, making a deficit a strong likelihood. Should the city end the year in the red, officials plan to close the gap by pulling money from their general reserve fund.

Garrett, an at-large councilman, suggested officials draw down on the reserve for contingencies fund, a special pool of money spent at the discretion of council to meet unexpected expenses.

The fund currently stands at $1.1 million. Garrett, a member of council’s finance committee, which reviews the status of the contingency fund on a monthly basis, suggested council pull from that resource rather than furlough employees.

His proposal generated no support among the rest of council and several members said it would only leave the city in a weaker position, noting next year will only be more severe. Payne said his budget proposal, scheduled for presentation March 10, would include “significant” additional personnel action. He declined to comment further.

“Why would you eviscerate your fund balance when you’re headed into a budget where you’ll need that fund balance?” Councilman Michael Gillette, Ward I, said of Garrett’s proposal. “… Why would you want to go into a year where you know you’re going to have bigger fiscal stresses than now with fewer resources than now? That’s not leadership.”

Garrett said afterward he was surprised by the opposition and didn’t understand why council would not turn to the sitting contingency money that would cost them “no pain” to spend.

“It’s already there,” he said.

The furlough was ultimately approved on a 5-2 vote with Helgeson and Garrett dissenting.

Also Tuesday, City Council voted to cut its own salary 3 percent in a show of solidarity with staff. Officials discussed reversing a $2,000 salary hike they gave themselves last year, but that proposal was ultimately pushed back for further review in the budget talks.

Lynchburg’s five regular council members and vice mayor are currently paid $10,000 a year for their service. The mayor earns $12,000.