Farewell, Furlough Fridays

By NANCY COOK LAUER

Stephens Media

It’s farewell to furloughs for Hawaii County employees, who spent their last furlough day Friday taking care of their weekly shopping at area grocery stores and soaking up the sun at the beaches, knowing that their salaries will increase next month, but their extra monthly day off is pau.

“Thankfully, furloughs have come to an end,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi. “It was an unprecedented situation, unique challenges. We hope to not ever have to do that again.”

United Public Workers and Hawaii Government Employee Association members, as well as elected officials, appointees and excluded managerial employees, have been subject to first twice-monthly and then monthly furloughs since 2010. Starting July 1, UPW and HGEA employees will not only get that day’s pay back, they’ll also get raises of about 4 percent, under union contracts negotiated at the state level.

The furloughs helped the county survive the Great Recession without having to resort to layoffs, Kenoi said.

Ending the furloughs is adding $4.2 million to the county budget. The raises add another $2.9 million to the $394.3 million budget.

Employees at Hilo-area shopping centers and beaches didn’t want to be identified by the newspaper. But several characterized the end of Furlough Fridays as bittersweet, and some said they’d just as soon have the extra day off each month.

Kenoi said he’s also heard from staff who appreciate that extra day off each month.

“We’ve received some positive feedback from some staff, especially those with children who want to spend more time with their families,” Kenoi said. “We’re looking at how some can provide the same level of service (as a five-day workweek), say in four 10-hour-day workweeks. It’s a conversation that will be ongoing. We’ll take a measure.”

Early predictions of inconveniences or extra overtime costs because of furloughs proved to be unfounded.

A Stephens Media survey in 2010 found few people inconvenienced by what were then twice-monthly furloughs, and more than half surveyed in West Hawaii weren’t even aware employees were taking them.

Fire Chief Darren Rosario told the County Council last month that furloughs of civilian employees had really eaten into his overtime budget. Uniformed firefighters and police did not participate in the furloughs, but relied on the support services provided by the civilian staff.

“I’m sure you could have felt the islandwide gasp from all our public workers when you mentioned it,” Rosario told South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Brenda Ford when she said during April budget briefings that furloughs should continue one more year until the economy more fully recovered.

Deputy Finance Director Deanna Sako said Thursday that the administration doesn’t segregate overtime by furloughed employees from other overtime costs, so it’s hard to know if the furloughs had an impact.

But a Stephens Media analysis of overtime costs last year found the $8.8 million in overall overtime, even with furloughs, was 37 percent less than the $14.1 million in 2007-2008 under former Mayor Harry Kim.

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.