Aurora Furloughs 576 Temporary, Seasonal Employees Due To Coronavirus
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- The City of Aurora is furloughing 576 temporary, contingent and seasonal employees because of the coronavirus pandemic. The furloughs will take effect on April 25.
Those employees who have been furloughed have been sidelined from their normal work functions during COVID-19.
The city's full-time and part-time employees are not facing furloughs. The city's temporary, contingent and seasonal employees whose work functions continued through the current crisis, are affected by these furloughs.
The City of Aurora has more than 3,900 employees.
The city blames the furloughs on declining revenues on city projects. The projections show the city is expected to fall short of $20 to $25 million, or about 6% of the city's general fund budget this year.
"Our employees are at the core of our mission to serve our residents, and it was a very difficult decision to have to resort to any measures that directly impact them," Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly said in a statement. "We proceeded with furloughs when our budget forecasts made it clear we had no other choice, and our hope is that the enhanced unemployment benefits announced under the CARES Act will provide them with financial stability until we can make further decisions about restoring our city services and bringing employees back to work. My heart goes out to all of our employees affected by this."
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Aurora said since the stay-at-home order went into effect, they have continued to pay their employees.
Furloughed employees will continue to be paid at their regular rate for their pre-COVID-19 work schedule through April 24.
Aurora said the goal is to hire back as many of the furloughed employees as possible once the city begins to reopen is facilities.