In a belt-tightening measure aiming to meet its financial obligations prior to the October 1 change of administration, the Chapala government has begun cutting back on employees and payroll expenses.
Questioned by the Guadalajara Reporter last week, Human Resources Manager Francisco Vega stated that the Public Works Department has dismissed 80 temporary employees who were hired for specific projects that have been completed or put on hold. He indicated that, while additional cuts in other agencies are under consideration, most full-time personnel with seniority will keep their jobs.
Resuming duties after losing his bid for re-election, Chapala Mayor Javier Degollado announced that department heads and other high-level appointees must accept a 50-percent pay cut or take an unpaid leave of absence until the end of September, according to an interview published by the local Spanish-language weekly Laguna.
Degollado attributed the need to slash payroll expenses to a lack of liquidity due to the freezing of 34 government bank accounts under a court order related to a pending lawsuit. He also suggested that he would have avoided taking such stringent steps had he won his bid for a second term.