NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV (FOX5) -
The city of North Las Vegas unanimously passed a $400 million budget Tuesday evening. City leaders, seeking to close a $33 million deficit for the coming fiscal year, will lay off public safety workers and Teamsters unless concessions are made.
Unless an agreement is reached by the end of the month when the budget is due, layoffs could begin in June.
"It is unfortunate we could not come to an accord with our unions, and are being forced to lay off employees to balance our budget," City Manager Tim Hacker said in a press release. "There is no question these are tough times and the last thing we want for anyone is a lost job or to reduce the current level of services and public safety for residents."
According to a city official, layoffs could total 217: 57 firefighters, 100 police officers and 60 Teamsters.
"We are going to live within our means and it hurts and it's hard," said Mayor Shari Buck.
"They don't know whether they have a job tomorrow. I don't know who's going to get laid off. They don't know who's going to get laid off," said Larry Griffith, Teamsters Local 14.
The city is asking for a two-year freeze on annual raises, an elimination of the holiday sell-back program, and a moratorium on uniform allowances.
Mayor Buck thinks it's not too late for an agreement to be reached.
"It's important to have a job. It's important to have a good job and that they can take care of their families and I hope they value that," she said.
Mayor Buck said that even with 217 layoffs city services would not suffer because the police and fire departments have plans in place to deal with the downsizing.
Some city workers told FOX5 they're not convinced the concessions would be enough to fix the budget problem. They're also worried that in a few years they'll be asked to make more sacrifices.
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