Harvey furloughed about 40% of city workers this week, following Mayor Christopher Clark’s announcement Oct. 16 the city would partially shut down services as a consequence of its financial situation becoming untenable. According to Clark, Harvey is $164 million in debt.
Harvey’s total workforce is 167, and 69 employees were furloughed, leaving 98 to maintain the essential operations of government. That includes nearly half of the Fire Department, with 20 out of 41 total employees furloughed, and more than a third of the Police Department, with 24 out of 68 employees furloughed, according to city documents.
“We are trying our very, level best to operate in good faith with the city,” said Keith Freeman, secretary of Harvey Firemen’s Association Local 471.
Freeman declined to comment further, saying union negotiations with the city were ongoing.
A city statement announcing altered hours for city services said that Fire Station No. 1 would remain open while Stations No. 2 and No. 3 would be temporarily closed. A GoFundMe collecting donations for laid-off firefighters collected $34,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Friday morning.
Much smaller departments were also hit hard, with three of five Water Department employees furloughed, and both of the city’s senior services employees.
Clark said in a statement the Cook County sheriff’s office would work to support Harvey’s Police Department.
“Starting today, deputies from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office are working with Harvey police, on our streets, in our neighborhoods, answering calls alongside our officers,” Clark said in the statement. “This support does not replace our officers; it reinforces them.”
The city gave no timeline for when furloughed employees could expect to return to work, though it listed several possibilities for financial stabilization in a list of frequently asked questions.
One of those options is Illinois House Bill 4024. At the City Council meeting, Clark mentioned the potential proposed legislation as a potential emergency relief measure for Harvey. The bill would appropriate $30 million from the state’s general revenue fund to pay for Harvey’s operational expenses. The bill, originally introduced in March, was only ever referred to committee. It would need to pass in the veto session, which ends Oct. 30.
Another option Clark discussed to return the city to solvency is renegotiating repayment terms with the firefighters pension fund. Currently, Harvey’s municipal income is garnished by the state to repay money owed to the pension fund. Harvey had failed to make required payments to the fund beginning in 2005.
Local activists held a news conference on Tuesday calling for Clark’s resignation.
“As of this week, the city has announced it is financially indigent,” said Amir A.H. Shakur, representing the Thornton Township Citizens Action Committee. “We’re standing here to simply say that the leadership in Harvey, including Mayor Clark, have known about this deficit for years. Close to seven years. No action has been taken. Not only has no action been taken, but Mr. Clark has even weaponized city government, including the police, against the will of the people. It’s unacceptable.”
Shakur said it was unacceptable to ask for relief from the state government to bail out a city level government Clark has led for several years.
“Several years of financial mismanagement, several years of political corruption, several years of weaponizing the police against the citizens,” he said.
Other speakers expressed concern about the pressure the furloughs will put on public services. One woman, who identified herself only as a Dolton resident, worried the Harvey Fire Department furloughs would mean a greater strain on the neighboring Dolton Fire Department.
Harvey’s next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is at 7 p.m. on Monday at Harvey City Hall, 15320 Broadway Ave.
elewis@chicagotribune.com