The city will cut 160 positions resulting in 97 layoffs. That's roughly 4.5% of the workforce. But only seven of them will directly impact the residents of Fresno.
At a news conference today, City Manager Mark Scott laid out a layoff plan that's top level heavy. Directors, supervisors and managers across the board are the ones being affected by the cuts. And the public works and public utilities departments are taking the biggest hit.
Scott says the layoffs are needed to balance the budget for this fiscal year which is more than $2.5 million in the red.
The city manager says residents may notice a difference in public services once the layoffs take effect April 30th.
"In many cases it's not so obvious when you're cutting at the overhead level what the impacts are," said Scott. "But these are the folks that support the people who are in the field. These are people who are behind the front line in the field."
No sworn police officers are being laid off but twelve top level fire department personnel are being let go.
The 2011 fiscal year ends June 30th and after that the city faces a projected budget shortfall of $18.5 million for the fiscal year of 2012.
