Layoffs come to city hall

By Charles Sercombe
The financial impact of the coronavirus economic shut down has hit Hamtramck.
Last week, the city “furloughed” 27 city employees, which includes 10 full-time and 17 part-time employees.
City Manager Kathy Angerer also reduced salaries for department heads by 5 percent, and her own by 10 percent.
No cuts were made in the fire or police departments. However, Fire Chief Danny Hagen is now working part-time, and had his salary reduced by 50 percent.
Angerer said that this change in the fire chief’s position will likely be permanent.
The furloughs are different from layoffs because they are temporary, and most workers will be called back. However, Angerer said city finances will ultimately determine whether all of the employees will be returning.
In the meantime, employees can file for unemployment, and will likely be eligible for the federal unemployment subsidy of an extra $600 a week.
Several other cities in the metro area have taken similar measures. Most recently, Westland laid off 77 city employees – which totals 66 percent of that city’s workforce.
At last Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, Angerer said the financial impact of the virus has cratered the city’s incoming revenue streams.
Income tax filings are way down, because the deadline to file 2019 taxes has been pushed back to July. That means a loss of $3 million, or so, that the city would have normally received by now.
District court fines are also way down, because police officers are issuing few tickets because of the virus.
There are other financial setbacks the city is experiencing, which are once again pushing the city into deficit spending this year, by about $1 million.
The city also went into deficit spending for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The furloughs did not sit well with the Hamtramck firefighters union, which posted a long message on Facebook lashing out at the administration.
The firefighters were particularly irked that Max Garbarino, who was appointed to a newly-created position of Director of Community Safety and Services several months ago, was spared being laid off with the other city hall employees.
The firefighters say that he should have been considered a nonessential employee.
“He was hired to do jobs that the city has already paid employees to do,” the firefighters said.
“It seems a large part of his job, unbeknownst to the firefighters, during the COVID shut-down of City Hall, has been to solicit and secure meal donations from struggling businesses for public service employees, according to our last city council meeting.”
The firefighters go on to say:
“The Hamtramck Firefighters find this extremely disheartening, fiscally irresponsible, and dangerous. Furloughs and lay-offs are heart-breaking in normal times, but during these already trying times, cutting our fire chief’s time and pay is an utter shock.”
But there was also pushback on the firefighters’ response from former city councilmember Scott Klein.
“It’s very easy for a group like the Hamtramck Firefighters that has single-handedly contributed nothing to what should be shared sacrifice in the city to condemn those that must make difficult choices being made by leaders, not just in Hamtramck, but across the region,” Klein said in a Facebook rebuttal.
Klein has butted heads with the firefighters’ union before while serving on council. He spared no punches.
“If you (the firefighters) really feel that outraged over what are painful but necessary cuts, here’s an idea: offer to cut your pay by 10% for the duration of the pandemic. The money the city saves can go towards hiring back some of the people you say you care about and who will still make far less than you. Otherwise, spare us your fake outrage,” Klein continued in his Facebook comment.
And Facebook being Facebook, there was no shortage of folks attacking Klein.
“He (Klein) looks like more of an idiot then when he was on council back in the day,” said Michelle Arnold Campbell.
Posted May 8, 2020