13 months ago
LINCOLN, CA - City employees in Lincoln are bracing for layoff notices that could come as early as Friday, according to Mayor Spencer Short. Short said that the city has not decided how many of its 230 employees will receive pink slips, but he said that Lincoln is trying to close a $1 million shortfall in its $16 million operating budget. Short added the city also needs to trim $350,000 out of a development fund budget. "With everything slowing down we're just trying to adjust our service levels," Short said. The impending layoffs are especially painful in Lincoln, a town which claimed the title of America's fastest growing suburb in 2007. Back then, new housing subdivisions and strip malls couldn't be built fast enough. The population of Lincoln exploded to 40,000 residents. "I think everyone saw the slowdown coming but it was just a sudden collapse because of the mortgage crisis and everything else," said Short. Restaurant owner Sergio Gomez opened up La Fiesta Taqueria during the boom of 2007. The former mortgage banker said his restaurant on Main Street used to be standing room only, but now, business is down about 60 percent. "A lot of my customers I talk to, they tell me, 'Hey, I'm getting laid off in a couple of weeks.' Business has been slow," said Gomez. He added that many of Lincoln's city employees eat regularly at his restaurant. Short said that even police and firefighter jobs could be impacted by the cuts. The police budget makes up 47 percent of the general fund while the fire department budget is 20 percent. "We right now don't know how property tax and sales tax are going to come out for the rest of the year and we want to kind of monitor that before we do anything really drastic," said Short.
