TIFTON — The City of Tifton will make a decision before the end of December on whether to furlough employees to meet what the city manager said is a shortfall of Local Option Sales Tax revenue. Other cutbacks are also expected, and the total cost savings for the city is estimated at $1.5 million.

City Manager Mike Vollmer said Monday that he met with employees of each city-operated department over three days last week to tell them that a strong possibility exists that they would be required to take one day off without pay each of the months of January through June 2010. The furloughs would not affect employees who work for functionally consolidated county/city departments that are operated by the county.

“We wanted to let them know that, just like the rest of our community, we are going to have to cut back and live within our means,” Vollmer said.

Vollmer said he distributed a LOST collections report to every employee showing the $312,562 LOST shortfall so far this fiscal year compared with the same period last year. He said he and city council members will look at LOST revenues for November and a portion of December before making a final decision on whether to require employees to take the furlough days beginning next year.

The city employs 250 people. If the furloughs are mandated, Vollmer said the city would save $211,038 over the course of six months next year. Vollmer said every city employee, including city council members, will be affected by the furloughs.

City department heads have also been instructed to cut their operating budgets by 2.5 percent to save an estimated $864,287. Also, $413,539 was budgeted for overtime in the city’s current budget and managers will have to have any overtime for their employees pre-approved. The cost for employee overtime pay for the period July 1 through Oct. 20 was $127,187. Vollmer said that employees seemed to prefer furloughs over job losses.

Merit increases up to 3 percent expected for employees effective Jan. 1 won’t happen and the cost-saving measure is expected to save the city $127,187.

“We told staff that we didn’t want to cut jobs and that’s a job or two we can save,” Vollmer said.

Vollmer said the city has 30 positions vacant.

Also, the elimination of the customary $125 year-end bonus paid to city employees will save the city $35,750. The city’s annual Christmas party, which would have cost $13,500, will also be cancelled.

The city will also discontinue the practice of employees taking city-owned vehicles home with them overnight. Currently, 35 police officers, five public works employees, three solid waste employees, three fire department employees, 17 utilities employees and Vollmer take home city-owned vehicles. The measure will save the city approximately $86,207.

Vollmer said the cost-cutting measures will not result in a tax increase for city citizens and should prevent the city from dipping into its cash reserves, which are currently at the amount it takes to operate the city for 1.5 months.

The city sold CityNet, its high-speed Internet, cable and telephone provider company to Plant Telecommunications at the end of September for $3 million cash and will receive free Internet from Plant Telecommunications for 10 years. The City used the $3 million and $2 million borrowed from its contingency funds to bring the debt down to $5.8 million. The City borrowed approximately $5.8 million from a local bank in September to pay off part of a $10.7 million debt it owes on the bond borrowed to fund CityNet. The payments on the City’s loan for CityNet debt is expected to be $350,000 per year for the first five years, rising to $562,900 per year for years 16-20.

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.