With sad eyes, Mayor Iorio announced the elimination of over 200 jobs on city payrolls. Due to a recently imposed hiring freeze, may positions had been vacant for some time. "We have to shrink the size of your city government" she stated as the details were released. Each affected employee was given a 90 day notice in order to provide as much transition time as possible. They will also receive compensation for remaining sick days and vacation days. The largest department affected was the Parks and Recreation Department. Karen Palus indicated to us that initial fears of greater cuts had still lead to more jobs being eliminated than had been hoped for. Layoffs in the Police Department totalled 47 and in the Fire Department - 14. Police Chief Hogue clearly indicated that the cuts would not affect the level of protection currently in the city.

Mayor Iorio further emphasized that the shrinking city employees would be during this fiscal year and through the future. She stated that no further job cuts were planned at this time, however, further cuts would occur through vacancies and attrition. When asked about whether she would give back part of her salary, she bristled at the suggestion by making it clear that her salary was a very small part of the city payroll and that while jobs had been eliminated, no city employees had seen wage cuts during this round of budget cuts.

Significant changes announced were the elimination of the Creative Industries Director positon currently held by Paul Wilborn and the eliminaton of the Public Works Deputy Director position currently held by Tony Rodriguez. Tony will move to be the Transportation Manager leaving current manager Roy Lamotte to apply for another position at Public Works. The Historic Preservation Manager position will be eliminated and the ARC and BLC will now become part of the Urban Design Division.

Code Enforcement will lose 6 positions. Fred Hearns will be retiring early as Director of Community Affairs, a department that will lose 9 positions and will now fall under the Neighborhood Services Administrator.

Mayor Iorio clearly indicated with repeated emphasis, the each employee was an important part of the city's team and that the job elimination did not reflect anything on each individuals skills and dedication to the city.

"We have to continue to move this great city forward" she stated as she indicated that capital improvement projects would continue in spite of the budget concerns.

Employees were informed in most cases in person as supervisors held various private meetings throughout the city. Tension had been building in the offices from over a week ago when the first news of impending layoffs hit by way of the media with an official follow up email to employees later in the day. One affected employee told us that she was ready for the cut and was ready to move on.

The next budget will be presented to City Council in August and will probably show further cuts in spending. Approximately $5 million more in cuts could be forthcoming in the areas of non-profits contributions, parades and events, and various budget locations. The impact of the proposed change in property taxes by the Florida Legislature could significantly change the future of city spending even further, but until the issue is approved or rejected by voters in January, it is impossible to predict what those consequences may be.

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