Doomsday is upon us…again.
"Our lives are gonna change pretty dramatically, come Thursday," Mayor Michael Nutter told his department heads in a budget briefing Tuesday.
Without an 11th-hour reprieve from the budget gurus in Harrisburg, Nutter says shutting down services and laying off workers are both unavoidable.
3,000 workers would be let go and the notices would start going out next week.
"This will unfortunately, quite possibly qualify as the most difficult week in many of our respective public service lives," said Nutter.
Thursday, notices go out to alert workers and the public about city-wide closures that would take place if we end up in worst-case scenario mode (also known as Plan C). Libraries and parks top that list, by the way.
Nutter commended city workers for showing up every day and performing essential services while in perpetual limbo when it comes to job security.
"We will certainly also provide the necessary support services for our public employees who are increasingly feeling a sense of anxiety," he said.
Nutter says he'll keep doing all he can to make things happen in Harrisburg, but, "it would be completely irresponsible for us not to have plans in place and move this process along."
The city needs state lawmakers to sign off on a temporary sales tax hike as well as controversial changes to pension plans in order to keep paying workers keep the city afloat, financially. That hasn't happened because of the two-and-a-half month budget impasse.
