With the COVID-19 emergency’s impacts on the local economy, the City of Eureka is preparing for a looming fiscal crisis by making budget cuts, which include reducing the city’s largest expense: personnel.

Hoping to avoid layoffs, the city is preparing to offer early retirement incentives, also known as golden handshakes, to six city employees, including Sequoia Park Zoo Director Gretchen Ziegler. Other employees are from the police department, accounting, public works and community services. The offers are slated for approval by the Eureka City Council at tonight’s regular meeting.

City of Eureka Human Resources Director Will Folger says that, at least for the time being, the city plans to eliminate these positions. By doing so, the city estimates saving $486,670 in salary expenses for the fiscal year, according to the city staff report.

“With the overall economic situation of the city and the world right now, we’re feeling the pinch pretty hard,” Folger told the Outpost in a phone interview this morning. “At least for now the plan is to leave these positions unfilled for the most savings.”

 Gretchen Ziegler | File Photo

The six employees all accepted the early retirement offer, after a citywide notice was sent out looking for qualifying staff members. Folger wanted to emphasize that the golden handshakes are voluntary and cannot be imposed by the city. Of the six, four will receive two years of California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) benefits, the other two will have 80% of their health insurance premiums paid by the city for two years.

But one of the things the city is trying to avoid is cutting public services, Folger said, and staff is discussing how to maintain the current level of service without filling these positions. “Eureka isn’t alone in finding ways to reduce impact to our employees and preparing for an uncertain future,” he added.

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In other business, the council will consider extending the city’s Poet Laureate program from a one-year term to a two-year term.

Last year Dave Holper, a local writer and College of the Redwoods English professor, was selected as the city’s official poet laureate and Izzy Unsinger and Harvey Mitchell were selected as the Youth Poet Laureates. But, due to COVID-19, hosting community events and, therefore fulfilling the important duties of a poet laureate, has been incredibly difficult.

The staff report also notes that Holper has created a Facebook group called “Poetry on the Edge,” a space for Humboldt poets to share their works during these strange times.

“This group of Humboldt County poets is about living on the edge of the continent, on the edge because of the crazy pandemic we’re living in, and because words give us a way to explore both the shadows and the light,” reads the group’s “about” page.

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The Eureka City Council will discuss these and many other important issues at tonight’s meeting at 6 p.m. You can view the full agenda here.

The council will also hold a special meeting at 4:30 p.m. to accept City Manager Dean Lotter’s resignation.

You can view the meetings on the City of Eureka’s website and public comment can be emailed to cityclerk@ci.eureka.ca.gov.