Kaine: Most state employees must take 1 furlough day
BOB BROWN/Times-Dispatch
BUENA VISTA -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's budget balancing plan, which he's expected to roll out tomorrow, is expected to include an unpaid day off for most Virginia government employees.
Kaine told the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning that his package to close a $1.5 billion hole in Virginia's budget will require public workers to take what are widely described as furloughs.
Kaine said the unpaid days off would not apply to public safety workers, such as state troopers and corrections officers. Kaine would not say how much money will be saved by the furloughs.
Since the economic downturn started accelerating in early 2007, Kaine and the General Assembly have pruned state spending by $6 billion.
Continuing erosion in the economy means the budget is still bleeding cash -- this time by an estimated $1.5 billion.
Furloughs have been widely used in industry to control cost during the recession, and have been adopted by governments across the country. Previous governors have considered furloughs in earlier recessions, but this apparently is the first time that Virginia is adopting them.
-- Jeff E. Schapiro
Reader Reactions
Oh, good grieg, Kaine has not made a mockery of the state. He’s dealing with the effects of an international economic decline no one on earth can avoid. Kaine is certainly doing a better job that Arnold Schwartzeneger is doing dealing with the same situation in California where state employees went weeks without paychecks!
simdar19
warner raised taxes and then he and timmieeeee spent more than they brought in that is the continual problem with government every year they take in more money than they did the year before[not this year of coarse. but every year prior ] and then spend more than they took in. the first thing on the chopping block should have been pre-k the whole damn program if parents can’t pre-k their own children they should not be having them. yes’‘ taxes are the price of civilized society’‘ but dumping more money into an already failed program or one that should not exist in the first place like pre-k does not make them work any better example richmond public schools spend 2 times per pupil what the counties do and they have a 50% drop out rate tell me how more money helped there. plus if you tax me into poverty well there goes your civilized society. just look at france every time the 40% unemployed decide they want to riot
I tried to do my part. I requested my job be abolished last year. After 27+ years of State service, I’m ready to go, but as another commented earlier the difference between 27-8 years and 30 years is huge. My director refused to even consider my request. Meanwhile they hired someone off the street in the past year making 5k more than I make doing the exact same job.
**citycynic***
I get what you are saying, completely. And yes $60 is a big deal to me financially, that being said, we seemingly don’t have a choice in this and will still have a job at the end of the day. There are many out there who can’t say that, since they got laid off….
I am a single parent and commute 90 miles one way to work each day, so $60 will hurt me, but again, if it is only ONE day…I will just suck it up and go on with it.
Timmy has made a mockery of our state…
I have no problem with taking a furlough day if it will help balance the budget. It would be a loss for me but I am willing to make the sacrifice. At $16.62 per hour adds up to $129.92 for 8 hours. If 140,000 employees give that up, it is a savings of almost $19 million. Before all the comments start about slacking at work, I am on leave today.
coyotegurl: Here’s what you’re missing: it’s not about the amount of money, although is this economy $60 may be the difference between eating or buying your cancer meds. The point is this - furloughing state employees will do absolutely nothing to save money. In fact, it will wind up costing money, as so many bloggers here have factually pointed out. This is a surface, short-term, looks good in the press move by a governor who has completely lost touch.
Underperforming social programs and bloated contracts like the VITA/NG fiasco are what have cost the Commonwealth - not state employees who have gone two years without even a cost of living increase while watching their health care costs rise.
Andif $60 is no big deal to you, I suggest there are plenty of state employees who’d be glad to take it off your hands.
ok, unless i’m missing something here, we are talking about ONE day of unpaid leave time….approximately $60 by the time its all said & done, out of the employees’ wages. WHAT is the big deal? I could understand it if it were one day a WEEK! As a state employee who messed up my leave once not too long ago, I had 8hrs unpaid leave which amounted to my check being $60 less for that pay period.
Wonderhow many of the state employees who took Timmy’s short-term 25% interest loan will now default? And remember - that money comes out of the Combined Virginia Campaign so the charities lose.
What a joke - VITA/NG should be dealt with before any discussion about furloughs.
Fact. The average state salary is $31,828. When the “Temporary Workforce Reduction” happens it will cause more and more defaults in mortgages, (Cash for Clunkers) newly financed new cars, over all spending, etc. We have over 70,000 state workers in the central Virginia area.
Wow, lots of venting about state employees, especiaally the nice people at DMV. I say that because I’m a transplant here, from a state that shall remain nameless, where going to the DMV was a REALLY painful, and usually all-day event. And the employees were customer-hostile, and quick to summon police to remove anyone who complained too often, or too loudly, in their opinion. Going to the Virginia DMV has always been a pleasant experience for me, and usually takes less than an hour of my time.
But that’s not what this forum is about, and in my opinion, forced furloughs like this are preferable to hard layoffs of specific employees. Losing an occasional day will be a slight to moderate impact on everyone, which I feel is better than wreaking economic destruction on a few individuals by laying them off.
I also feel that government should be required to budget very conservatively at ALL times, to reduce needless spending, waste, and of course, taxes. Any surplus could be invested, to offset future lean years, or returned to the taxpayers in the form of a credit on the next year’s taxes.
Just my $0.02 worth . . .
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