Cairo mayor says council to blame for job cuts

CAIRO, Ill. -- The city of Cairo laid off 13 part-time employees Monday and plans to terminate the employment of another eight or nine city workers in a month to save money, Mayor Paul Farris said.

Farris announced the need for layoffs in a news release issued Monday. The cuts come from a city work force of 79 full- and part-time employees and include the fire and police departments.

The first round of 13 layoffs, city attorney Patrick Cox said, include three police officers and two firefighters. The exact mix in the second round hasn't been decided, he said.

In the release, Farris blamed city council members for the job losses, accusing the six members of shirking their duty to the city by failing last week to attend regular and special meetings. Too few council members attended last Tuesday's regular meeting or a special meeting Friday to conduct business.

The agendas for those meetings included discussions of the city's debt and potential sale of city assets. In an interview, Farris said he has repeatedly urged the council to approve selling Riverlore, an historic mansion purchased in 1999 with bond debt for $250,000.

The council, Farris said, has "ignored the need for us to rid ourselves of unneeded luxuries to preserve the work force."

The debt for Riverlore and other properties now exceeds $300,000.

Another pressing financial matter that prompted the layoffs, Farris said, is the city's loss in an arbitration hearing for three police employees fired over the suicide of Demetrius Flowers in a police holding cell in December 2005. The employees, two officers and a dispatcher, were re-instated with back pay and benefits when they challenged Farris's decision to fire them for violations of department policies.

Financial woes have been a constant theme for the city and it has grown worse under Farris' term, which began in May 2003. Shortly before Farris won election, the city settled a legal battle by giving up a major revenue source worth nearly $300,000 annually -- speeding tickets on Interstate 57.

The looming debt payments for Riverlore have been known for years and shouldn't have forced layoffs, Councilman Joey Thurston said Monday. He accused Farris of ignoring council directives to stop hiring new employees and to seek ways to cut costs.

"We have nothing to say about hiring. We have nothing to say about firing. We have nothing to say about spending," he said.

Selling Riverlore would only rid the city of the debt payments and do nothing to prevent layoffs, he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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