When Hennepin County commissioners decided in April to ask employees to take voluntary time off without pay instead of requiring unpaid furloughs, they wondered if enough workers would be willing.
But county employees have come through in a big way.
Enough workers took time off that the board will not have to follow through with a proposal to require all employees to take unpaid time off before the end of the year, the commissioners learned on Tuesday.
As of Friday, 3,895 of the county's roughly 8,000 employees had voluntarily taken or committed to take 105,000 unpaid hours off before the end of the year. That's an average of almost 27 hours per person, and will save the county close to $4 million, just a bit short of its goal of saving $4.5 million.
"I did not expect we would get there," County Administrator Richard Johnson said. He thanked employees, saying he recognized the sacrifice they were making to help the county balance its budget.
Employees still can request unpaid time off through the end of the year, and Johnson said he expects total savings to near the $4.5 million target.
The employee furloughs are part of the county's attempt to deal with a $20 million shortfall in state funding this year. Administrators had already identified $15.2 million in savings, holding open and cutting vacant positions and reducing spending on travel, equipment, consulting contracts and office supplies.
Though the main impact of the voluntary furloughs is that the county avoids forcing employees to take time off without pay, "it certainly helps us to not have to [cut more] jobs this year," Johnson said.
