Columbia plans nearly 80 job cuts

The city of Columbia is shrinking its workforce.

The plan announced on Thursday is to get rid of 78.5 positions starting with the next fiscal year Oct. 1. A lot of those jobs are vacant right now, but 11 of them are currently filled.

City Manager John Glascock says the move would save Columbia $3.8 million as it tries to balance its budget during the pandemic.

“This is one of the hardest decisions department directors and I have made in recent years,” Glascock said in a Thursday press release. “As I mentioned in the State of the City address last month, I asked directors to submit to me budgets which included a ten-percent reduction in spending. With the uncertainties of revenues in the next six months to year, these reductions are prudent to ensure the financial health of the city.”

Glascock says he also recommends not renewing the contract with Columbia Public Schools to provide four school resource officers. He will present his draft budget to the city council on July 24.

(This story was last updated at 6:49 a.m. Friday.)