Mayor Walsh Announces Schedule for Citywide Furlough Days to Offset COVID-19 Revenue Losses

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced that City of Syracuse employee furloughs will take place on Oct. 30 and Nov. 20 in 2020 and on May 7 and June 25 in 2021. The savings that result will help to offset revenue losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On the four citywide furlough days, City of Syracuse administrative offices will close, but all emergency services and essential operations will continue to be delivered. Sanitation employees will work on the furlough days to ensure trash and recycling pickups remain on schedule.  These employees have agreed to forgo holiday pay on four existing holidays during the current fiscal year.

 “Working with our employee labor partners, we came up with a revised plan that limits the impact on city services to four specific days,” Mayor Walsh said. “By selecting days this fall and next spring and summer, we avoid the winter months for safety reasons and the end of year holidays during which loss of pay would be even more difficult.”

The furloughs, which affect about 1,450 union and non-union employees across all City departments, are expected to achieve nearly $2 million in savings. The last of five employee labor unions affected by the furloughs, which are intended to help avoid permanent jobs cuts, voted to approve the program Tuesday. 

“The fiscal crisis facing the City is real.  These furloughs hurt our residents and our employees, but without help from the federal government, we have no choice but to implement cost saving measures,” said Mayor Walsh. “I thank our city workers for making this sacrifice and ask our residents to be patient with the resulting reduction in services during this extraordinary time.”