None of this is any fun.
When the economy is bad and public money dries up, government has to figure out a way to conform to a shrinking budget.
That’s Madison County’s situation. In their efforts to account for budget shortfalls, county officials have made missteps — such as increasing the county option income tax from 1.25 percent to 1.75 percent — but they’ve also taken some sound steps toward fiscal responsibility.
Monday evening, the County Council voted to impose unpaid furlough days for county employees to save enough money to keep the doors of the Madison County Government Center open and to avoid further layoffs.
Each employee will be required to take four days off without pay sometime during the next 36 business days. The immediate need is to cut $280,000 from the budget. Councilman Gary Gustin calculated that the county needs $70,000 a day to cover its payroll, leading to the stipulation that each employee take four unpaid days off.
Fake-cations. DOWOP (Days Off Without Pay). Whatever you want to call them, unpaid furlough days cut into people’s paychecks and create hardships for some who may be struggling to pay their bills anyway. But it’s a necessity in this time of financial crisis for local government officials to remember who they’re working for — the taxpayer, not the public employee — and to save money as needed.
The alternatives to furlough days — job cuts, wage cuts, etc. — aren’t very attractive either.
Anderson city government recently approved an employee package for next year that gives 14 holidays. The problem is that all of those are paid days off. Whether paid holidays are stipulated by union contracts or not, that’s poor management of public money.
Unpaid days off may cut into the services offered by the county, but at least taxpayers aren’t still paying employees for those days as if they were hard at work.
Editorials
Editorial: County’s unpaid furlough days painful but needed
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Editorial: Get permission before school pranks
Anderson High School decided to show some solidarity with their Cascade peers and filled up the school with post-it notes, all in good fun. This prank was also done after hours but with a big difference: The students had requested and received permission to imitate Cascade.
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You Said It: About fundraiser, missing woman, building preservation
Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin publishes “You Said It,” a compilation of reader comments from www.theheraldbulletin.com.
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Editorial: Memorial Day helps put face on wounded warriors
This is the perfect weekend to thank a veteran, an active duty service member or a wounded warrior for his or her service. Our positive, encouraging response goes a long way in defining our society.
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Editorial: Honor those who fought, and celebrate our freedom
This weekend, keep in mind the reason for Memorial Day — to remember those who have been so important in our lives, especially those who made the supreme sacrifice in military service.
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Editorial: Governor candidates offer conservatism, moderation
The jockeying for position has begun in what is basically a two-horse gubernatorial race. Each offers voters a legitimate option. The November outcome may offer a simple referendum on the mindset of voters: Are they most persuaded by Mike Pence’s conservatism or by John Gregg’s moderation?
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Editorial: Keep up the chorus against the landfill
Occupy Anderson has joined the ever-growing chorus against the proposed Mallard Lake landfill. Sam Mudd, a member of Occupy, is taking his studies on how the landfill might pollute Anderson’s water to areas of the county to drum up support against the landfill.
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Editorial: Find a buyer for former school or tear it down
If a buyer wants the former Pendleton Heights Middle School, fine, but put no more taxpayer money into it.
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Editorial: Libraries must adapt to serve communities
Certainly, the Friends of the Anderson Public Library needs space to store and sell used books, records, DVDs and other material. But library supporters and staff must be flexible in this ever-changing world to keep public facilities relevant.
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You Said It: About Walking Men, the Queen of Disco and settled lawsuits
Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin publishes “You Said It,” a compilation of reader comments from www.theheraldbulletin.com.
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Editorial: Ockomon-Spencer saga hurt city's reputation
Wednesday, May 16, was a sad day for Anderson taxpayers forced to pay a $128,000 bill that ends a saga that never should have started
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