Furloughed city workers in Harvey were present for the first city council meeting since the tough financial decision was made.

Harvey residents in attendance wanted to know how the city will keep operating, and furloughed city workers were looking to find out when they will get a paycheck again. 

One by one, residents expressed their concerns just days after 69 Harvey employees were furloughed. It comes just two weeks after the city acknowledged its more than $100 million deficit and requested state help. 

"That's why I stay here because I love my city, and I hope you all would love it just a little bit more," a resident said.

People packed the city council to find out what's next in the steps to become a financially distressed city.

What is clear is that city services are limited, and union leaders who represent public works employees said they needed to have a better understanding of just how the furloughs will last.

"Make sure we can get something resolved with the city of Harvey to make sure these workers can come back to work. Families are impacted. We don't know where our next check is coming from," said Lamar Young, AFSCME Local 2404 president.

"We've been robbing Peter to pay Paul for the past six years," said Ald. Tyrone Rogers.

As the city tightens its financial belt, furloughed workers have no indication of just how long they will be without work. Some aldermen, including Colby Chapman, called for a freeze on all bills until workers can get paid.

"Bills don't go away just because you say that you don't have any money. I wish it did work that way cause a lot of people would be doing it," Mayor Christopher Clark said.

Clark pointed out that the steps to get the state involved are slow, but the work will continue.

"It's not really just the state, it's a comprehensive structure that must be in place with everyone. We have had conversations with the unions, and we plan on having more conversations tomorrow," he said.

Conversations, union leaders say, are needed because they want to pinpoint just when they could possibly return to work. As it stands, 69 workers were impacted, and more are possible.