Smyrna Eliminates 15 More City Jobs, Lays Off 7

The City Council of Smyrna, Georgia, has voted to eliminate some additional city jobs early this year in order to save money.

The council, which had earlier agreed to cut 16 positions, cut an additional 15. The overall cuts include 15 landscaping jobs and 8 in the sanitation department.

City manager Wayne Wright said 12 of the 31 positions eliminated were already vacant, and that when retirements are included, the city expects to lay off 7 employees.

The city has worked to trim its $43.9 million budget after a downturn in revenue. It decided to stop its leaf vacuuming program, and close City Hall an hour earlier at 5 pm. Trash pickup will be cut from twice a week to once weekly beginning in March.

Finance Director David Boyd said the city decided to take a proactive look at the budget after a decline in first quarter revenue from court fines, building inspection fees, real estate transfer taxes and interest income.

Smyrna is a suburb of Atlanta. Census estimates of 2005 indicate a population of 47,643.