City, MBTA avoid layoffs, furloughs
The MBTA and Boston continue to avoid layoffs or furloughs, though a local economist says those kinds of measures are likely to become increasingly necessary as the coronavirus pandemic pummels budgets.
Mayor Martin Walsh’s office on Thursday said that the city has not laid off or furloughed anyone at this point, and the T said the same.
The University of Massachusetts system, on the other hand, is in the midst of furloughing more than 1,000 people for several days each by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
UMass President Marty Meehan’s central offices are furloughing 168 people, and 1,000 more furloughs are being spread over the campuses. Nonunion workers and administrators will be furloughed for five to 10 days, and the system remains in talks with the union workforce over their impending furloughs.
Suffolk University economics Professor David Tuerck, who runs The Beacon Hill Institute, said cities and towns, which rely largely on property taxes, likely will have more stable revenue than state agencies, which rely much more on income taxes and fees. Property taxes likely will not see any massive changes in the short term, he said, but the declining revenues across the board will result in jobs and services being cut at all levels.
“Localities will be fortunate in that their revenue bases will erode more slowly, but then they’ll face a more difficult political issue in terms of taxes,” Tuerck said. “Every single governmental unit should be wary about raising taxes given the state of the economy.”
Regarding some municipal and state jobs, he said, “I think it’s going to be increasingly difficult to justify some positions deemed essential but probably aren’t really … people are going to have to get used to the necessity of finding different work. Budget people are going to have to scratch their heads and come up with solutions.”
Walsh’s administration submitted a budget for the coming fiscal year by the April deadline, and likely will amend it before it’s passed by June 30. Budget officials have said they’re monitoring revenue sources closely.
The MBTA, which has long had serious financial issues, has seen ridership tank as social distancing set in. T officials recently said that the federal coronavirus relief money that’s coming to the transit agency won’t fill the whole gap from the loss of revenue.