City workers to take voluntary furlough

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The City of Port Huron is asking  employees to take a voluntary furlough. City Manager James Freed tells WPHM it’s all due to a decrease of revenue because of the pandemic. “A large portion of our revenue, about 50%, comes from income taxes,” said Freed. With less people working, that means less income for the city. “We have to maintain a positive cash flow position,” with Freed saying his goal is to reduce city staffing by 15%. The  city manager anticipates income tax revenue to be down about $750,000 this year. He also says revenue sharing from the state, largely in due to gasoline taxes, will also be down as less people are traveling. Freed adds it is very likely city pools and McMorran place will not be open until this fall due to social distancing orders.