Inglewood Treasurer Wanda Brown may have let the cat out the bag during the city council meeting held on July 14, 2020, that city employees could be facing furloughs in the upcoming 2020-2021 fiscal year. Mayor James T. Butts did little to squash the treasurer’s assertions.
The midyear budget presentation detailed revenue and expenditures from October 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020, which showed they were mainly consistent with previous years numbers, however, the global pandemic surrounding the coronavirus, the delay of the 2020-2021 NFL season and postponement of several planned concerts at SoFi Stadium paint a grim picture for Inglewood’s upcoming fiscal year.
The budget department cautioned during the June 9, 2020, council meeting that revenue through the close of the current fiscal year, September 30, 2020, through end of 1st Quarter 2020, would reveal the true financial impact of COVID-19.
Brown’s assertion that furloughs would be implemented, with the closure of city hall every Friday in the upcoming fiscal year, caused Mayor Butts to publicly chide her, while reminding the public about the extensive financial background of the treasurer.
Butts was forced to ask both City Manager Artie Fields and Asst. Finance Director Sharon Koike if the city is entertaining layoffs to which they are presumed to have been told to answer “no”.
Then Mayor Butts made the following statement during his closing remarks:
“I will tell you definitively that THIS fiscal year, the one that ends September 30, 2020, and begins October 1st, we will not be laying anyone off,” said Butts. “We do have enough reserves so that we don’t have to do the things that Brown talked about but we will wait until the end of 1st Quarter (December 31, 2020) of next fiscal year to see where we are and where COVID-19 has our revenue.”
Related: Mayor James Butts Response To The City Of Inglewood On Covid19 on KJLH
Sounds like Mayor Butts corroborated Brown’s claims that furloughs could be on the table due to Mayor Butts own admission on March 23, 2020.
Butts appeared on KJLH explaining he predicts the city will lose $20 million in revenue due to the coronavirus. The city’s anticipated budget for FY 2019-2020 is $125 million.
This week’s treasurer’s report is listed below.
Treasurer Report July 7 & 14 2020 Furloughs
3 Comments
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it sounds nothing like nothing you said. sound like there would be no layoffs and no closed on Fridays.
it sounds exactly how we said it. the city will need to re-evaluate the TRUE losses of revenue related to COVID-19 to determine if furloughs are necessary. $54 million in reserves isn’t enough to keep staffing levels the same and would also dip below the state required amount to be in the reserves if it were used to keep employees working when the public doesn’t have unrestricted access to city hall to do business.
keep in mind residents aren’t being made to pay their water bills which reduces revenue. the city absorbed $1 million in trash collection fees plus sales tax revenue is down. property taxes could take a hit too.