Expressing faith that the "brighter tomorrow we wait for is just around the corner," the Parker administration on Thursday began pink-slipping municipal workers in hope of easing an expected $80 million budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.

A memorandum from Mayor Annise Parker's office to City Council and department heads said the first layoffs targeted workers in "non-public safety" departments.

Thursday's layoffs are the first of many expected by May 17 — the legal deadline for handing out termination notices. Laid-off workers will remain on the city payroll until July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Parker spokeswoman Janice Evans said 14 general services and four municipal court workers lost their jobs Thursday.

Planned layoffs halved

The news came as Parker's office noted that "economic improvements seen in the last month or so have allowed us to reduce the number of planned layoffs by more than half."

"If there is further improvement," the memo said, "it is possible that some of the remaining planned layoffs could be reversed."

"That's the only good news I've had today," said Melvin Hughes, president of the Houston Organization of Public Employees Local 123.

Earlier, in a memo to union members, Hughes said he expected "hundreds" of layoffs by the mid-May deadline. "We'd like to repeat that HOPE has never supported layoffs and we'll keep the pressure on the city to realize the cost savings you have found," Hughes wrote.

City Hall remained mum on the total number of terminations expected, although Parker's office Thursday acknowledged that the layoffs will result in service reductions for the public.

Last week, Police Chief Charles McClelland said he had proposed laying off 181 police officers and 445 civilian workers to trim $39 million from a $685 million budget in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

In a mid-April speech before the Greater Houston Partnership, Parker announced that the coming fiscal year's expected $130 million deficit had been reduced to $80 million. .

Library crunch lessened

In her memo to City Council Thursday, Parker noted that "Houston is still better off than most other cities in the nation. The signs of economic improvement we are seeing today provide assurance that the brighter tomorrow we wait for is just around the corner."

In a similar upbeat - though qualified - message, Houston Public Library executive director Rhea Lawson told her employees that the department's budget crunch will be less than expected. Lawson earlier had said staff reductions and library closures would be necessary in fiscal 2012 as the library system made do with a $27 million allotment - $10 million less than this year.

On Thursday, Lawson, without divulging numbers, told workers that "due to recent improvements in the city's economy, our overall departmental budget reduction is not as drastic as indicated earlier."

Still, she said, layoffs will be necessary. Library pink slips will be handed out next week.

allan.turner@chron.com