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600 Baltimore City Workers To Receive Layoff Notices

June 1, 2010
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By Cathy Duchamp

Layoff notices for 600 city workers are being issued in Baltimore this week. But exactly who will lose their jobs remains unclear, as the City Council continues to debate how to fill a $121 million budget gap.

It seems odd to issue layoff notices before any job cuts are official. But the union contract that covers Baltimore city workers requires 30 days advanced warning of possible dismissals.

Among the likely targets: people who work at city recreation centers or for the Department of Public Works.

The Baltimore City Council is wrestling with a spending gap that’s equivalent to the annual budget for the fire department.

Several tax plans are on the table. Among them, a fee on vacant row houses, increasing taxes on parking, hotels and personal income. A $0.04 tax on bottled drinks is off the table for now.

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