Mayor Meghan George announced last week nearly 200 employees agreed to take part in a voluntary furlough program that will save the city more than $250,000.
The impetus for the move is tied to the economic slowdown related to COVID-19.
“We’ve been strategically planning on how to mitigate these revenue losses for our city,” George said. “Part of that strategic plan is our training freeze, hiring freeze and postponement or cancellation of projects. “One component of that is the voluntary furlough program. We’re working with SharedWork Ohio, which helps prevent layoffs by allowing employers to uniformly reduce hours from 10 to 15 percent. The employee receives a prorated unemployment benefit.”
While the furlough program was offered to first responders, the mayor said so far no one from the police or fire department has volunteered.