Mesa laying off 70 employees

In the midst of the sinking sales tax numbers, the City of Mesa is going to be laying off 70 employees. The City is also looking at restructuring its departments and deciding on the scope and depth of services that they should provide. There will be concerns, as those expressed by people from the Fire Department. Obviously, response times and making sure we have firefighters should be one of Mesa's top priorities.

However, it appears that the hole is deep enough that cuts are going to be made across the board. Hopefully, some of the bond spending will be able to help ease the pain, but everyone is going to have to figure out what is essential at this point. As many people are having to go through their budgets and make sacrifices, the city and all of its departments should be willing to do the same.