Budget Cuts Could Include Up to 200 City Jobs

You may have already heard, but in case you haven’t, the City is preparing to take “dramatic steps” to reduce staffing and service levels as part of the next phase of fixes for Tacoma’s budget. An article in the TNT today reports on a memo sent to City staff from the City Manager saying just that. According to the TNT, the cuts will be on the order of 200 jobs.

Just this week we heard Broadnax’s plan to close the remainder of the gap in the budget for the current biennium using reserves available from internal funds. With this plan ready to go to Council for a vote next week, we’re starting to hear a little more about plans for addressing the predicted $60 million-ish gap in the 2013 – 2014 biennium budget.

The letter from Broadnax doesn’t go into specific numbers, but the TNT is reporting that 200 jobs are on the chopping block.

With a gap that big, it’s hard to be surprised by the idea of significant layoffs, but that probably doesn’t make it any easier for those whose jobs are on the line.

Read more from The News Tribune.