Starting June 12th, city offices will be closed and not providing service every other Friday.
To address a forecasted budget shortfall of $5.4 M in 2020 resulting from COVID-19 and to continue savings into 2021-22, we had to make the very difficult decision to layoff and furlough employees in our organization. Non-public safety city employees will be furloughed for 14 work days between now and the end of the year The schedule of furlough days can be found at bothellwa.gov/calendar.
Additionally, please note we have gone from two general Customer Service representatives to just one, so our response time and ability to serve customers from the front desk of City Hall may require a little more patience.
We are still learning what our sales tax impacts will be, but with business closures, construction slowdown, and mandatory social distancing measures, we expect significant decreases in sales tax, permit and review fees, park and sportsfield rental fees, and program income.
For the last several weeks, we have worked closely with City Council and our valued employees and labor partners to find the least disruptive ways to mitigate the effects of lost revenues. The following decisions have been made:
Personnel Changes:
• All hiring and overtime, with specific position exceptions, has been paused
• Most travel and training has been frozen for 2020
• The Executive Management Team and all non-public safety employees have agreed to 14 furlough days, resulting in salary decreases
• The following 15 positions have been laid off effective June 1st
Administrative Services Manager (Public Works)
Parks/Planning and Grants Manager (Parks)
Administrative Services Coordinator (Finance/Information Services)
GIS Analyst (Information Services)
Building Inspector (Community Development)
Customer Service Representative (Community Development)
Training Administrative Assistant (Fire Dept)
Public Safety Telecommunicator (Police)
Public Safety Telecommunicator (Police)
Police Support Officer (Police)
Court Clerk (Municipal Court)
Recreation Coordinator (Parks)
Custodial Day Porter (Public Works)
Custodial Day Porter (Public Works)
Transportation Engineering Technician (Public Works)
Unfortunately, these layoffs were unavoidable, as we must reduce expenditures for 2020, and continue the savings into 2021-2022. City Manager Jennifer Phillips and the Management Team relayed to staff how difficult these decisions were.
“We value every member of the Bothell team and losing one is hard, but to layoff these team members is heartbreaking. These individuals made meaningful and valuable contributions to our organization and community and they will be deeply missed. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with each of them, wish them well, and know they will find continued success,” said Jennifer Phillips, City Manager.