Latah County Commissioners declare financial emergency: Three-day furloughs, other cuts part of final 6-percent holdback
As reported in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
Latah County declared a financial emergency Monday, finalizing a 6-percent holdback plan on its 2010 budget just two months into the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
The declaration allows the county commissioners broader discretion to change contracts and move money from different budget lines that otherwise would be prohibited.
Under the declaration, the majority of the county's 130-plus employees will have to take three unpaid furlough days and a $50 cut from their monthly "fringe benefit." The benefit is extra money given at the discretion of the commissioners that goes onto county employees' paychecks to offset such expenses as medical and insurance costs. The total benefit given has been $125 per month.
The declaration also suspends hiring new positions for the remaining 10 months of the fiscal year without specific case-by-case approval by the commissioners.
The furlough and benefit cuts approximate $250,000 in savings, or roughly 3 percent of the budget. The other $250,000 saved comes through cuts in department operating expenses.