County may ask workers for unpaid furlough

Sonoma County administrators are in talks with the county’s
biggest employer unions to discuss imposing a mandatory unpaid week
off in an effort to deal with the looming budget crisis.
According to Fourth District Supervisor Paul Kelley, who
represents the north county and currently chairs the Board of
Supervisors, the county is facing an $8 to $10 million budget
deficit, and this tactic could save half that amount.
Kelley said that, “the County Administrator’s staff is currently
in discussion with the unions about how it could possibly be
implemented.”
According to county sources, the county employs more than 4,000
people, in a wide variety of service positions, from parks
maintenance crews, to jail supervisors, to mental health workers.
The proposed furlough would affect all workers, and most would be
encouraged to take time off during the Christmas holiday
season.
Assistant County Administrator Bob Deis said the discussions are
of a general nature so far. “The employee groups are surveying
their membership. They’re interested in contributing their part to
help with tough times.”
Deis said that by taking an unpaid week off, each employee would
take what amounts to a 1.9 percent reduction in salary, which could
save the county almost $5 million. He said the money could, “go
into a pot allocated to save jobs that would otherwise be laid
off.”
The largest unions of county employees are approaching the idea
cautiously. Michael Allen is the general manager for the Service
Employees International Union Local 707, which represents about
2,500 county employees. Allen said he is worried that the unpaid
furlough would only put off the inevitable.
“Are we going to save jobs right now but lose them later because
the state budget crisis is so bad?” he wondered. Allen said he
mailed a survey to his members on Monday, and should have the
results within two weeks.
The county has no intention of closing its jails or letting
fires burn during the unpaid holidays, and most public safety
employees would be asked to take a week off at some other time
during the year, to avoid interrupting fire and police service.
Shaun Du Fosee, a Correctional Sergeant with Sonoma County, is
the current President of the Sonoma County Law Enforcement
Association, which represents more than 500 jail and probation
employees.
“The last time we did this, it just didn’t work,” said Du Fosee,
who said that his group is chronically understaffed. “We always
incur overtime now when someone takes vacation or sick time. It
doesn’t matter what week you pick, it will always be a problem.
We’re staffed bare bones.”
Du Fosee said, “we want to do our part,” but that he hasn’t yet
determined the collective will of his membership.
Fifth District Supervisor Mike Reilly said that layoffs are not
enough to solve the budget problems, and that certain cuts have a
disproportionately high impact on services.
For example, the county just eliminated 29 positions in the
mental health department, but many were positions that had gone
unfilled. “It only resulted in three layoffs, but it closed clinics
all over the county,” in Cloverdale, Guerneville, and Petaluma,
Reilly said.
Reilly said that the county needs to look at a ballot measure
for the March 2004 election, perhaps a short-term parcel tax or
sales tax. “We can let the people of Sonoma County decide whether
to kick in for a specific period of time, to shore up some
services.”
Would the unpaid week off impact everyone, even elected
officials and senior administrators? “Yes, everybody, all the way
to the top,” said Deis. “This is not American Airlines.”