Nearly 500 temporary city employees in Tempe were furloughed on Monday in anticipation of the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of the employees worked in Human Services and the Community Services Department, which oversees the Tempe Public Library, the city’s arts and culture facilities, community centers, recreation programs and volunteer services, city spokeswoman Nikki Ripley said.

Those facilities are closed indefinitely, and arts and recreation classes are suspended as the city seeks to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The city has not yet set a date for when it anticipates reopening the facilities.

The 495 employees will be furloughed until city operations return to normal, according to the city.

“This was a heartbreaking decision because our part-time, temporary employees are the face of Tempe for many people in our community,” City Manager Andrew Ching said in a news release issued Tuesday. “Many have worked with us for years, offering their skills and care in all kinds of areas.”

It is unclear how much money the furloughs will save the city as some employees may not have been scheduled to work at all in some pay periods, Ripley said.

Tempe anticipates having to make other budget cuts as restaurants scale back operations and other businesses close temporarily. City budgets are heavily reliant on sales tax revenue. Tourism also has come to a halt during what would typically be the busiest season for the region.

A look at neighboring cities

Mesa, which is considering keeping its parks and recreation, libraries and arts and culture facilities closed until October, plans to lay off 23 full-time and 455 part-time employees in those departments.

Neighboring Chandler and Gilbert don't have any current plans to furlough or lay off employees. Employees working at closed facilities in Chandler, such as the library and recreation centers, are preparing for summer programs and putting together virtual classes for residents, city spokesman Matt Burdick said.

Gilbert also hopes to reopen facilities as soon as state officials say it's advisable, town spokeswoman Dana Berchman said.

Gilbert plans to take a closer look at staffing in May when March data will be available, she said.

"We are committed to keeping all lines of service operational at this point, and we have reassigned some personnel to areas of critical need," Berchman said.

"Everyone is hoping there won’t have to be any (layoffs), but we have to wait until we get the data in May to know for sure. Gilbert is very lean in staffing already compared to surrounding cities," she said.

Other budget impacts

The Tempe City Council has not yet met to discuss the virus’s impact on the remainder of the fiscal year 2019-2020 budget or financial projections for the budget year that opens July 1.

The city was riding high heading into the current budget season as job growth boomed and cash flowed in. Staff was preparing to propose its largest budget for capital projects ever, at about $800 million.

Now, city officials anticipate cutting projects and other areas of the budget.

Department directors were asked to spend conservatively through the rest of the fiscal year, which runs through June, and the City Manager's Office must approve any new hires.

There likely will be further department budget cuts this fiscal year so the city can roll money over to the new fiscal year, according to the city.

Longer term, city staffers look to scale back on capital projects and stow away cash.

They recommend postponing proposed capital projects that were to be paid with cash so those funds could instead be used for day-to-day operations. Projects with high long-term maintenance and operations costs could be pushed back, too.

The council, which began meeting remotely in March, will discuss the operating and capital budget at a work session scheduled for 4 p.m. April 22. The meeting will be streamed online and broadcast on Tempe 11 and residents can weigh in on the budget by sending an email to councilcommunicator@tempe.gov prior to or during the meeting.

Republic reporter Alison Steinbach contributed to this article.

Reach reporter Paulina Pineda at paulina.pineda@azcentral.com or 480-389-9637. Follow her on Twitter: @paulinapineda22.

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