(Cleveland) - The city of Cleveland was hit hard, financially, by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Frank Jackson laid it all out for city employees who gathered Wednesday morning at Public Auditorium, and for others who watched on Facebook Live.
The mayor says, due to the loss of tax revenue, the city is $4.5 million in the red just due the coronavirus. Examples given by the mayor were losses in admissions taxes, in parking taxes, and taxes charged on rental cars. All were down sharply due to people staying home, and a lack of large gatherings.
The mayor says the city has money in reserves, so at least for now, there are no layoffs planned. However, he says if losses continue, then cuts could be a possibility.
In addition, the mayor told city employees that over $3 million was spent by the city in costs such as police overtime, late last month and early this month due to the downtown rioting and looting, followed by days of downtown curfews.
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