Davis furloughs employees one day a month as COVID-19 pandemic squeezes city budget

The city of Davis will furlough all its employees one day a month starting Aug. 14, as officials scramble to make up for huge revenue shortfalls caused by coronavirus pandemic.

The furloughs, which will run from August to February, will save the city about $1 million. City Hall will be closed for services during furloughed days.

“Residents may notice a delay in service because of furlough days,” City Manager Mike Webb said in a statement. “However, the City, as always, will strive to uphold excellent customer service standards.”

Public safety employees such as law enforcement officers will “maintain a constant level of service” and will take furlough days when they can without disrupting operations, according to a city news release.

All other employees will be furloughed: Aug. 14, Sept. 4, Oct. 23, Nov. 25, Dec. 18, Jan. 8 and Feb. 5.

A consultant told city officials in May that Davis could expect to see $22 million worth of revenue losses because of the coronavirus pandemic, a more severe impact than what the city faced during the recession.

In Davis, shuttered businesses have stemmed the flow of sales tax money, while canceled conferences and conventions at UC Davis has slashed hotel tax revenue.

The furloughs come as local governments across the Sacramento region have been coming to grips with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Some cities had already laid off temporary staff earlier this year, and and many more have anticipated significant cuts may be on the way.

Some cities in California have already implemented furloughs to make up for the lost revenue, including El Cerrito, San Jose and Lincoln.

A League of California Cities report earlier this year predicted that without assistance from the federal government, nine out of 10 California cities would have to lay off or furlough employees, decreases services, or both.

Cities may ultimately see a nearly $7 billion general revenue shortfall over the next two fiscal years, according to the analysis.