Fredericksburg to furlough city employees, reduce pay

As she stood on the front porch of her Fredericksburg home, Mayor Mary Kathrine Greenlaw delivered some grim news earlier this month in a video posted to the city’s YouTube page as the city battles the financial strain of the coronavirus pandemic.

Greenlaw announced that the city would be furloughing roughly 41 city employees effective May 2. Twenty-eight of whom are currently listed as part-time employees, while 13 full-time employees will, unfortunately, be furloughed as well.

The employees affected will be placed on furlough status until July 31.

“It’s now time for us to take aggressive action to address the pending financial crisis here in the city,” Greenlaw said in her video announcement. “These feel like drastic actions, and they are. We must pull back and regroup on our budget now, so that we can move forward again on a strong financial footing.”

Some of the positions and departments affected by the furloughed employees include:

• One full-time and three part-time police department workers
• Four full-time public works employees
• Three full-time and one part-time parks and recreation employees
• One part-time sheriff

On a more positive note, though, the city will pay for all insurance premiums for the furloughed full-time employees, including the employee’s share, to maintain health, dental and eye care benefits until July 31. Those furloughed will still be eligible for unemployment benefits, thanks in part to guidelines that were recently revised by the federal government.

Fredericksburg, along with just about every locality across the country, will face budget cuts from lost revenue after states imposed stay-at-home orders during March and April to limit the spread of coronavirus. Virginia’s stay-at-home order is set to expire on June 10.

“Our community is doing a good job of staying at home and doing your part to flatten the curve,” Greenlaw said. “While case numbers are still increasing, they are showing promise that all of our hard work to practice social distance is indeed working here locally.

In addition to budget-cutting efforts, Greenlaw also announced that the city will be implementing a salary reduction for all employees that won’t be affected by the furlough.

All employees that make under $70,000 per year will see a 2% reduction in their pay. Meanwhile, a 3% salary reduction will be applied to all non-public safety employees that make more than $70,000 per year. The temporary salary reduction will begin on May 2 and will last until the furlough date expires on July 31.

“These actions represent only a small part of the reductions we need to make on the current budget,” Greenlaw said.

As for the bigger picture, some of the other budget cuts include a freeze on city hiring, retracting some pending plans for the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, city schools, the Buffett Pool at Dixon Park and other parks, and many planned capital projects.

“Our work may be slowed a little, but it does not stop,” Greenlaw said. “We will come back ‘Fredericksburg Strong.’”