Lawrence officials to decide how to slash personnel costs

The unions are being asked to approve 12-day furloughs for county employees.

MARY GRZEBIENIAK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — With one union refusing to vote on a county furlough proposal and another set to vote on it Monday, Lawrence Count Commissioners said Thursday they expect to decide next week how to slash personnel costs in order to make it through the rest of 2009.

Commission Chairman Steve Craig said Thursday that General Laborers Union Local 964 declined to vote on the proposal when they met Wednesday.

Union Steward Kevin Carmichael said after the commissioners’ meeting that about 90 members of Local 964’s bargaining unit met and decided not to vote on the proposal because of too much uncertainty about what effect a vote would have. He added there are “lots of rumors” floating around.

Commissioners are waiting for the other union representing county employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, to vote on the proposal at 4 p.m. Monday. In the meantime, commissioners have scheduled an executive session at 1 p.m. today with other elected officials to “talk about individual positions and people.” Commissioner Rick DeBlasio said after the meeting he expects commissioners to take some action at their meeting Tuesday.

Craig explained at Thursday’s caucus meeting that to be effective, cost-cutting measures have to be in place by the last quarter of the year, which begins Oct. 1. “We need some resolution, and our employees need to plan their budgets,” he said.

About half the county’s 400 employees are represented by unions.

The unions are being asked to consider a voluntary furlough of 12 days from now until the end of 2009 because county officials have stated they will run out of money before the end of the year without serious budget cuts. The fiscal crisis is the result of a shutoff in state reimbursement money since July 1 because of the state legislature’s failure so far to pass a budget for the state’s new fiscal year. The state provides about $70 million of the county’s $96 million budget.

In another cost-cutting effort, the county earlier this week passed an early retirement option and officials have given employees till the end of the month to decide whether or not to take it.