PORT ANGELES — Mark your calendars: Clallam County has set its furlough days for 2013.
Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to designate the 16 unpaid-leave days for most employees by a resolution. All of the furlough days fall on a Monday.
They are Jan. 14, Jan. 28, March 11, March 25, April 1, April 8, June 24, July 1, July 15, July 22, Aug. 26, Sept. 16, Sept. 23, Nov. 18, Dec. 23 and Dec. 30.
Most offices in the Clallam County Courthouse will be closed on those days. The only exceptions are the courts and the jail.
Sheriff’s deputies will be on regular patrols, but the sheriff’s administrative office will be closed.
The county implemented the unpaid-leave days to help balance the budget. Employee unions agreed to the concession in 2012 and 2013 to save jobs.
There also are 16 furlough days this year, including one this Monday.
The final furlough days of this year are Nov. 19, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
A committee of elected officials and department heads discussed the 2013 furlough days Sept. 20 and arrived at the 16 dates that commissioners approved Tuesday.
The committee’s recommended dates were chosen to have the least impact on employees and the public.
Paychecks
The committee met for two hours and “tried very, very hard to not have less than 20 days of paid work in any one month for those employees who get paid by the hour, so there wouldn’t be so much variability in their paychecks from one month to the other,” County Administrator Jim Jones said in a Sept. 24 work session.
“It was a real healthy, robust discussion, but we did come out with the unanimous recommendation.”
Commissioners concurred with the recommended dates in that same work session.
“Thanks to all the department heads and elected officials who got together to work on this,” Commissioner Mike Chapman said Tuesday.
Commissioner Mike Doherty said he has received a few comments from citizens about the inconvenience for furlough days.
“But they’ve been rather minimal,” he said.
“Once it’s explained — the financial situation the county faces — they tend to agree.
“I think people are adjusting to them.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
