COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County discussed the possibility of a hiring freeze and employee layoffs due to a developing fiscal crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the start of the year, Bartholomew County government was in “really good financial shape,” said county Auditor Pia O’Connor. But all who attended or watched Tuesday’s meeting of the Bartholomew County Council seemed to acknowledge that, financially speaking, the other shoe is going to eventually drop.
Reports about local income tax revenue from April “are going to be pretty devastating,” O’Connor told the council.
Last month, it was announced that all U.S. employees of Cummins, Inc. would see a 10% to 25% drop in salaries and reduced hours, which will significantly reduce the amount of local income tax revenue, council attorney Chris Monroe said.
State budget officials have already announced gas tax revenue used for roads and bridges repairs dropped by $8 million in April from original estimates.
“In addition, we don’t know if the fall is going to bring a second wave of COVID-19, and what impact that will have,” Monroe told the council.
Those combined factors prompted the attorney to recommend that the council not only consider a hiring freeze, but also make public announcements that county employees might be laid off. Even when county government was experiencing a multi-year fiscal crisis prior to 2018, county officials did not give layoffs serious consideration.
Monroe’s advice to warn about potential layoffs was met with resistance from council members.
Council president Matt Miller said the county jail and the 911 Emergency Operations Center have experienced substantial difficulties in hiring and retaining new employees.
“If you put the fear out there that if you are hired now, but may be laid off later, that will hurt our recruiting process,” Miller said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
