BELLEVILLE -- Mayor Mark Eckert may soon be asking the City Council to consider layoffs for city employees.
He won't say how many employees he would want to cut, or even if layoffs are a sure bet, but he said they're "not out of the question."
Eckert said the city's money woes are threefold: The state's late reimbursements to the city; the national economy; and the decrease in sales at the city's car dealerships, which, under normal circumstances, are major contributors to the city's coffers.
The city this fiscal year is estimated to receive $114.60 per Belleville resident in state reimbursement of certain taxes. That's $17.25 less per person than last year, so the city will receive $775,000 less this year in dollars used for city employees' salaries, general operating costs, and road repairs.
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