ROSWELL, Ga. — More than a dozen people who worked for the city of Roswell say they are in shock after being told they are being laid off. Now, the community is stepping in to help just days before Christmas.
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Earlier this month, the City of Roswell laid off 16 of its employees. In the days after, community members rallied together to help the families as the holidays approach.
Former city councilwoman Nancy Diamond created a GoFundMe page for the former employees.
“It was painful to think about they were in pain at this time,” Diamond said. “It’s a difficult thing to do no matter when, but the week before Christmas is especially tough.”
Diamond said nearly 150 have already donated, and they’ve collected nearly $14,500 so far.
On Monday, Diamond visited the Renasant Bank in Johns Creek to set up an account to be able to disperse the funds.
“They’re going to help us send the checks out individually, so there’s a clear paper trail of where all the money goes,” Diamond said.
She said it’s been a challenge finding the names of all 16 employees who were laid off, so she’s asking people to get in contact with her.
“As soon as we feel the GoFundMe has kind of hit its point, we’ll send out checks to everyone affected,” Diamond said.
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The GoFundMe is helping former employees like Joel St. Vrain, who’s worked for the city since he was 14 years old.
“It was absolutely gut-wrenching. Being this close to the holidays is concerning,” St. Vrain said. “Me being a proactive person, I want to get out there and find a job, but there’s not a lot of people hiring within a week of Christmas.”
Sean Hamby also got laid off. He had worked for the city for more than 37 years and is scheduled to have back surgery in a few weeks.
“I can’t believe that they would do this to these employees at this time of year,” Hamby said.
The City of Roswell sent Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers the following statement:
While it is never easy to lay off employees, the City of Roswell continually evaluates the organization and is realigning staffing to meet the priorities and achieve the goals of Mayor and Council to meet the future needs of the city. The full-time employees who were laid off were given a separation/compensation package, paperwork from the city to assist in filing for unemployment, and a list of open jobs from local governments surrounding Roswell. All employees laid off were also paid through the month of December. While the City laid off 16 full-time employees, it will be hiring 20 new employees in the new year. These full-time positions will include 15 firefighters along with five transportation crew members. The city is in the third year of a five-year plan to transition from a part-time Fire Department to a full-time department. Roswell was the only city its size in the United States that employed a part-time fire department. The Mayor and Council made a commitment to the community to transition the Fire Department to full-time to protect our residents, businesses and visitors. The five new Transportation Department crew members will maintain City roads and build much-needed sidewalks. The budget also includes $4 million in raises for employees in the new year.
As for the community, along with donating money, neighbors are also helping people with their resumes and leads on new jobs.
If you would like to donate, click here.
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