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SIGN OF THE TIMES: BUDGET CRISIS CLOSES
CALIFORNIA'S
DVA OFFICES TWO DAYS A MONTH -- An executive
order
requires most employees to take two unpaid days
off
a month. Most agencies are planning to close
the first and third Fridays of each month.
All "Sign of the Times" articles are here...
http://www.vawatchdog.o
rg/signofthetimes.htm
Story here...
http://www3.signonsandie
go.com/stories/2009/feb/06/1n6furlough2
35820-managers-grapple-first-state
wide/?zIndex=48876
Story below:
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-------------------------
Agencies cast into confusion on eve of first
state furlough
By Juliet Williams
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO — State agencies scrambled yesterday
to implement the first employee furloughs in California history, ordered
by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to save money in the face of a massive
budget crisis.
Many agencies were trying to figure out whether some employees might be
working today, the first of the two-a-month furloughs. Most had not issued
public notices on their Web sites about their closures.
Schwarzenegger's executive order requires most employees to take two
unpaid days off a month. Most agencies are planning to close the first and
third Fridays of each month.
Among the offices to be closed today are those of the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Many DMV services, including the ability to renew vehicle
registrations and schedule office appointments, will continue to be
available online at dmv.ca.gov.
Veterans Affairs offices also will be closed today.
Call centers that process unemployment claims will be staffed, and the
state Employment Development Department decided yesterday to keep open
about 250 career centers, where the unemployed get information about job
training and benefits, after previously saying they would be closed, EDD
spokeswoman Loree Levy said.
Job counselors at the South County Career Center in Chula Vista and the
East County Career Center in El Cajon said all regular services will be
available except for those provided by the government.
Applicants seeking unemployment insurance can file claims any time by
visiting the state jobs office Web site, www.edd.ca.gov
State parks will remain open today because they generate revenue. Also
open will be museums and historic sites, courts, the Legislature and state
Capitol, state fire stations, air bases and the California Public
Utilities Commission.
Schwarzenegger's office said about 90 percent of the state's 238,000
employees are supposed to be off today, but administration officials could
not provide a list of affected offices. A Sacramento County Superior Court
judge upheld the governor's executive order last week.
Yesterday, the same judge said his previous ruling did not apply to
employees of state constitutional offices, such as the attorney general,
secretary of state and treasurer, because they were not a party to the
lawsuit.
That decision came in response to an inquiry from state Controller John
Chiang, who wanted to clarify whether Schwarzenegger had the authority to
force the furloughs on elected officials.
Judge Patrick Marlette said his previous order did not address that
question because it was not raised in the lawsuit brought against
Schwarzenegger by state employee unions.
The issue is important because it could determine whether about 15,000
employees will be forced to take days off without pay. All of the seven
constitutional officers, other than the governor's office, have said they
will not comply with Schwarzenegger's furlough order.
Late yesterday, Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary, Andrea Hoch,
said the governor's office interprets last week's court ruling as applying
to all state employees. The administration is prepared to sue Chiang,
whose office cuts state paychecks, if he does not comply, Hoch said in a
memo released by the governor's office.
Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for Chiang, said the controller will follow
the court order but believes it does not extend to employees of the
constitutional offices. “There is no court order regarding the statewide
or constitutional officers,” Jordan said.
Schwarzenegger's office has estimated the furloughs will save the state
about $1.3 billion through June 2010.
For employees, the furloughs will amount to a 9.2 percent pay cut. Public
safety and some other employees, such as those who collect revenue, were
exempt. Some workers will be on the job today but will be required to take
other days off without pay.
Jim Zamora, spokesman for Service Employees International Union, Local
1000, said many employees were receiving conflicting information about who
was affected. The union, which represents 95,000 state workers, collected
several memos from managers apologizing for their lack of information.
Lynelle Jolley, a spokeswoman for the Department of Personnel
Administration, said the situation was changing constantly and that
managers were being kept as up-to-date as possible.
“A certain amount of confusion is unavoidable, given that this has never
been done,” she said. “We're doing it under emergency circumstances, and
the uncertainty of what's happening in the Legislature continues to plague
all of our planning efforts.”
Craig Copelan, a Department of Transportation engineer, was among a
handful of state workers who said they planned to show up at work today,
despite the furlough order.
“I have a lot of work to do. I'm really serious about what I do,” said
Copelan, who works on traffic safety studies. “Our work doesn't stop on
the weekends, it's 24-7.”
The furloughs come amid months of negotiations to try to solve the state's
budget shortfall, which is projected to reach $42 billion by June 2010.
Lawmakers hope to reach a deal before the state runs out of cash, possibly
by the end of this month.
Republicans have steadfastly opposed increasing taxes, while Democrats
have been unwilling to accept deep cuts to social services. Schwarzenegger
says both are needed but has been unable to broker a compromise.
The governor declared a fiscal state of emergency, allowing him to order
the furloughs.
“During this fiscal crisis, the governor believes strongly that we have to
do everything we can in this state to cut back since families across the
state are doing the same thing,” said Schwarzenegger's communications
director, Matt David.
The constitutional offices that were not addressed in the judge's ruling
last week are the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer,
controller, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction and
insurance commissioner. The court's furlough ruling also did not apply to
the Board of Equalization, a tax appeals board.
The governor's office has said its employees will work today but take the
pay cut.
Staff writers Steve Schmidt and Jeff McDonald contributed to this report.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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