A furlough program approved by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to help balance the county’s budget has garnered statewide attention from leaders throughout California. Political leaders are calling the county staff members, who are taking a 64-hour pay cut as part of the program, “positive role models for civil servants during these turbulent economic times,” according to a press release from the county. “We’re getting a lot of calls from other jurisdictions,” County Executive Officer Michael F. Brown said in the release. “The Governor’s Office, the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Orange County, and several others all want to know what we’re doing and how we did it.” Brown also said that “a lot of credit is due to the County’s workforce” for recognizing the need, and taking positive action to be a part of the solution. The 64-hour pay cut will help save about $10 million in salary expenditures. The money saved will be used to help preserve county programs and services for the public while also preserving jobs, Brown said. About 80 percent of the county’s 4,200 employees are participating in the pay cut and furlough program, according to Assistant County Executive Officer Susan Paul. Brown and Paul, as well as all of the county’s executives and managers, are participating in the furlough, Paul said. The county will close most non-essential business operations for eight days during the holiday period, from Dec. 22, 2008 to Jan. 4, 2009. County offices will also be closed on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2008, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2009. The county’s Public Health Department and the Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Services Department will operate on modified schedules for various public services and clinics. The county’s Animal Shelters will also be on modified schedules, though the Public Works Department’s recycling and refuse stations will remain open to serve the public. A complete list of closure information by department is posted on the county’s website: www.countyofsb.org.
This article appears in Nov 13-20, 2008.