Mayor Kevin Johnson told media outlets earlier this week that possible layoffs of state workers may harm the city’s economy.

Layoffs for about 5,000 state workers have been proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to address the state’s $24.3 billion deficit. Local governments throughout the state may be impacted by state budget cuts, Johnson said. But because many Sacramento residents are state workers, the city faces “a double whammy.”

Sacramento is “very uniquely positioned as a state capital city to get hit twice,” Johnson said Tuesday.

Johnson went on to say that if these workers are laid off, they may not be able to make their mortgage payments. In turn, these residents may foreclose on their homes, and add to the city’s foreclosure problems, Johnson said.

Johnson is also worried that an additional proposed furlough day for state workers would discourage residents from shopping and spending money in Sacramento. When furloughs are in place, “those workers don’t come downtown,” Johnson said. “They don’t shop at our retail outlets, and they don’t dine at our restaurants.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.