Furloughs unlikely for Montgomery employees, Leggett says
By: Alan Suderman
Examiner Staff Writer
October 30, 2009
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett probably will not force county employees to take unpaid leave during the current fiscal year, and instead is suggesting the county hire fewer police officers, raise fees for monthly bus passes and buy fewer office supplies to help save $30 million for the budget-deficient county.
Leggett's proposed savingsLeggett warned in July that furloughs could be necessary to help bridge a projected budget gap of $370 million during the next fiscal year. But spokesman Patrick Lacefield told The Examiner on Thursday that Leggett now believed the county could find better ways to save money, barring future cuts in state aid that are unexpectedly large.
» $124,440 by reducing the frequency of repainting parking lot lines. » $247,000 by eliminating tree-planting program for fiscal 2010. » $200,000 by reducing road and bikeway maintenance. » At least $185,290 by reducing printing and office supply costs. Source: County records
"The county executive does not intend to do furloughs in [fiscal] 2010," Lacefield said. "[Fiscal] 2011 is another matter."
Public employees around the state are being forced to take up to 10 days off without pay this fiscal year to address budget gaps, but Lacefield said the savings generated by furloughs wouldn't be worth the disruptions it would cause in county services.
Instead, much of Leggett's wide-ranging savings plan, which must be approved by the County Council, calls for delaying new hires and putting off major purchases, including marked and unmarked police cruisers and cars for the fire department.
"There are few 'easy' reductions left to make," Leggett told the County Council in a memo, echoing what's become a common refrain in the county during the last few rounds of budget-making decisions. "We must roll up our sleeves and begin to make the difficult decisions now."
Leggett's plan also includes increasing the price of a monthly bus pass from $25 to $30, cutting cleaning services at county-owned parking lots to a point where customers "will notice lower standards of cleanliness," and cutting 24 percent of the county library's budget for new books and magazines, according to county records.
The plan would also eliminate the county's tree-planting and weed eradication program for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in June, for a projected savings of $269,000. And the county would trim its budget for tree maintenance and stump removals by $75,000.
Leggett is proposing the county also reduce the incoming police recruit class from 47 to 36. County records show that fewer police are leaving the force because of a deferred retirement incentive program and a poor economy, reducing the number of new officers needed.
Other proposed cuts to public safety include reducing the police budget for uniforms, ammunition and other supplies by $400,000, and cutting $51,300 worth of BlackBerry and mobile phone service, psychological consultants, and other expenses at the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
