EVERETT — Snohomish County workers waiting to find out whether they’ll have to take up to 10 days of unpaid vacation in 2009 might not find out until after the new year.
“The end of the year really isn’t a deadline,” said Chris Dugovich, president of the Washington State Council of County and City Employees Council 2. “If we were ever to work something out it wouldn’t have to start right away. We’ve got time.”
Dugovich has been meeting regularly with County Executive Aaron Reardon to discuss the proposal of unpaid leave for the 2,000 county workers the union represents, said Brian Parry, Reardon’s chief of staff. The County Council suggested unpaid furloughs for county workers as a way to save money in the worst financial crisis in decades.
Reardon’s staff updated the council on the meetings this week, Parry said. If the unions agree to the plan, it would be the first time county workers have taken unpaid time off in response to a budget crunch.
Many of the union’s 18,000 workers statewide may be forced to take unpaid furloughs next year, Dugovich said, but “it’s not a foregone conclusion in Snohomish County.”
“The idea is tied to revenues, and those are difficult to peg,” he said.
Unpaid furloughs are among the ways county leaders hope they can balance the 2009 budget.
Elected leaders and department heads were asked in recent months to trim their budgets by 9 percent to account for a projected revenue shortfall of $21 million in 2009. The council adopted the budget plan of $206 million for the general fund in late November, but told department heads then that they would have to trim another 1 percent to balance it.
County leaders are trimming their costs by cutting down on office supplies, curtailing travel and training, and even laying off workers. Well over 100 county workers have been told their jobs will be cut by the end of the year, and dozens more vacant positions have been eliminated.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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