Fredericksburg Furloughs 40 Employees Due To Coronavirus

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The City of Fredericksburg notified about 40 employees Thursday that they will be placed on furlough status as of May 2 due to the coronavirus crisis wreaking havoc on the city's revenues. The furlough period is expected to last at least until July 31. By mid-July, the employees will be notified of their employment status as of Aug. 1, the city said.

About three-quarters of the employees are permanent part-time employees and the rest are permanent full-time employees. All of the furloughed employees will not receive any paychecks from May 2 through the end of July.

Fredericksburg also is implementing a salary reduction of two percent on salaries up to $70,000 and a three-percent reduction on salaries above $70,000 for non-public safety employees, effective May 2. According to the city's website, Fredericksburg has about 440 full-time employees, including school system staff members.

“It is always a challenge, even in normal times, to meet the community’s service needs while providing a competitive and attractive package of salaries and benefits for those who work diligently each day to meet those needs," Frederickskburg City Manager Tim Baroody said Thursday in a statement. "The current crisis, given its uncertain length as well as the unknowable extent to which it will change all of our lives over the long term, has made this challenge infinitely more difficult to meet."

Baroody said the city will continue to plan for school capacity expansions, protect historic resources, provide public safety services and implement environmental initiatives.

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Work on the Chatham Bridge, Liberty Place, Frederick Street Lofts, baseball Stadium, Veterans Administration clinic and other projects also is still moving ahead, Baroody said.

“As we currently focus our efforts on addressing the current and near term future challenges, we can do so with confidence that we will emerge from these challenges stronger for having done so," he said.

Over the past month, Fredericksburg has taken several steps to maintain an appropriate level of services to the community while protecting public health during the coronavirus crisis. The city has closed city buildings to the public. The number of employees with the capability to work remotely has increased and a “tier of operations” plan has been adopted to further reduce operations if the impact of coronavirus on the city continues to increase.

As the state fights to "flatten the curve" of coronavirus cases, the city "must now take the same type of very aggressive action to reduce spending to 'eliminate the gap' between revenue and spending," the city said Thursday.

The city is projecting a $4 million to $8 million gap in revenues for the current fiscal year.

The single largest demand for funds in the city's budget is employee wages. "Thus, any effort to significantly reduce the City’s costs must include reductions in these costs," the city said.

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