NAPLES BUDGET CRISIS OPTIONS

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The Naples city manager has released plans to deal with the budget crisis - plans which include major cuts for the next fiscal year.

The city is weighing two different options.

Among the cuts in option one are laying off the equivalent of 18 and a half full-time city workers, eliminating four vacant police officer positions and implementing furloughs, which would require city staff to take unpaid time off.

Option two's cuts run a bit deeper.

That plan calls for eliminating 34 full-time positions, cutting ten additional police officers and implementing the furloughs.

The city is also considering:

Cutting back hours of operation for community centers
Outsourcing a summer camp program
Transferring the city's 9-1-1 operations to the Collier County Sheriff's Office
Eliminating the city's advanced life support program and relying on county EMS to provide it
Eliminating the city's annual Swamp Buggy Parade
Eliminating the Great Dock Canoe Race
Read a more detailed version plan from the city manager here.

The city council will be discussing all of these options at its workshop Monday morning.

The city is bracing for a budget shortfall next fiscal year ranging from $2.5 - $ 5 million.

The staffing cuts would bring the number of city employees to levels last seen in the late 80s.

So I guess I should not apply for a long time? Too bad I was looking to work in Naples