"Notice is hereby given that the (my employer) Planning Commission is required to reduce staff as a result of lack of funds. Based on service credit with the (my employer) Planning Commission, you have the least service credit of all employees in the classification of Principal Planner and/or Senior Planner."
I was laid off yesterday. Budget cuts. There's supposedly a political reason behind the cuts to the agency which I can't post in this thread; it's not apparently not related to me or my work. This was really unexpected; the cuts were speculated for a while, but about a month ago the PD told me tmy job was secure. "I know you've been nervous about the budget, but I wanted to tell you so you wouldn't worry."
The PD watched like a hawk while I packed my office. I had no access to the computer to download my portfolio of completed plans, so I have only limited records of the several comp plans I wrote during my tenure. Since they're public record, I asked that they be sent to me immediately.
Two weeks severance and health insurance; that's it. I didn't sign anything. Unemployment insurance pays one-half of my salary.
There are NO planning jobs in the Cleveland area now. None. A couple of ED positions for which I'm not really qualified, but otherwise nothing. Few local governments in the Cleveland area have planning agencies, and there's only a few private firms.
The housing market in the Cleveland area is dead. I'm upside-down in my mortgage, and live in an inner-ring suburb that was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. In other words, I can't sell my house. If I can sell it, it would probably be a short sale.
My wonderful girlfriend is in grad school. She absolutely, positively cannot leave the area until she graduates next year. If I get move too far from Cleveland, my relationship will be doomed. She's sticking with me through this, though.
I'm not posting this because I'm seeking the sympathy of other Cyburbians; please don't turn this thread into a pity party.
I would imagine that with the worsening economy, more planners will be cut from their jobs as elected officials look to cut back on "nonessential" functions. I'm just wondering if others have been in this situation before, and what they've done to cope. Also, I'd like to hear from planners who are facing the possibility of layoffs.
I was laid off yesterday. Budget cuts. There's supposedly a political reason behind the cuts to the agency which I can't post in this thread; it's not apparently not related to me or my work. This was really unexpected; the cuts were speculated for a while, but about a month ago the PD told me tmy job was secure. "I know you've been nervous about the budget, but I wanted to tell you so you wouldn't worry."
The PD watched like a hawk while I packed my office. I had no access to the computer to download my portfolio of completed plans, so I have only limited records of the several comp plans I wrote during my tenure. Since they're public record, I asked that they be sent to me immediately.
Two weeks severance and health insurance; that's it. I didn't sign anything. Unemployment insurance pays one-half of my salary.
There are NO planning jobs in the Cleveland area now. None. A couple of ED positions for which I'm not really qualified, but otherwise nothing. Few local governments in the Cleveland area have planning agencies, and there's only a few private firms.
The housing market in the Cleveland area is dead. I'm upside-down in my mortgage, and live in an inner-ring suburb that was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. In other words, I can't sell my house. If I can sell it, it would probably be a short sale.
My wonderful girlfriend is in grad school. She absolutely, positively cannot leave the area until she graduates next year. If I get move too far from Cleveland, my relationship will be doomed. She's sticking with me through this, though.
I'm not posting this because I'm seeking the sympathy of other Cyburbians; please don't turn this thread into a pity party.
I would imagine that with the worsening economy, more planners will be cut from their jobs as elected officials look to cut back on "nonessential" functions. I'm just wondering if others have been in this situation before, and what they've done to cope. Also, I'd like to hear from planners who are facing the possibility of layoffs.
