Cleveland Heights To Lay Off 114 Workers Due To Coronavirus

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Cleveland Heights will lay off 114 part-time and seasonal workers due to economic contraction caused by the new coronavirus. The city has also instituted a wage freeze and a hiring freeze, along with spending limitations for departments.

The vast majority of the 114 laid off workers were employed by the city's parks and recreation department, according to City Manager Tanisha Briley.

"The vast majority of those impacted by this decision were working in our recreation programs where unfortunately social distancing requirements have eliminated all programming and associated revenue. Many of these valued employees have served this city with pride for decades and this was not their fault. We truly hope to be able to welcome them back one day soon," Briley said in a statement.

A city spokesperson told Patch the COVID-19 crisis has not created new costs for the city, but will lead to cuts in revenue. Income tax is one of the largest sources of revenue in Cleveland Heights and nearly 696,000 Ohioans filed for unemployment last week.

City officials believe the loss of income tax will begin impacting Cleveland Heights in the third quarter of this year (the third quarter starts on July 1 and ends Sept. 30).

"Being as income tax is one of the largest sources of revenue for the city and with so many people not working we are anticipating an impact to the budget," a city spokesperson said.

Cleveland Heights City Council recently penned a letter to the community, urging them to continue following social distancing guidelines.

"We have been cautioned by Gov. [Mike ] DeWine and Dr. [Amy] Acton that we may be entering the toughest weeks since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is more important than ever that we stay at home unless it is essential to go out (e.g. grocery shopping, doctor visits, work in an essential function)," city council said in its letter.