Granholm orders 6 furlough days to save $22M by October

The first business day after state offices closed last Friday meant long lines and full waiting rooms for customers hoping for quick service Monday at the Secretary of State’s East Lansing branch, 400 Albert Ave.

“I just went in and my number was 11, and they were on 67 or something like that,” Perry resident Sandra Luce said. “I thought, ‘Whoa, that’s forever … I’ll get a (parking) ticket before I get done.’”

Friday was the first of six furlough days, which affect state offices such as Secretary of State branches. They were ordered by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. They will take place until September. The furloughs are part of a plan to save the state almost $22 million before October.

The executive order, approved in May, requires most state employees to take unpaid days off to alleviate the state’s current $1.7 billion budget deficit.

State offices will be closed, but reductions mandated by Granholm could have been fulfilled in three furlough days, said Ken Silfven, spokesman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.

“Because of the significant jump in customer traffic, we’re actually forced to increase staffing levels to accommodate these influxes,” he said.

About 38,000 state employees had the day off Friday, and another 15,500 are exempt from the furlough days to maintain services in public health and safety.

The state House of Representatives and Senate have different plans to comply with Granholm’s executive order. The Senate is taking two furlough days and the House isn’t taking any.

“Many governmental units are approaching the budget shortfall with their own unique strategy,” said Kendall Wingrove, spokesman for the Michigan Senate. “(It) isn’t really one-size-fits-all.”

Civil service employees not in the Legislature will have to use the six furlough days included in their contracts, but those working in the Senate are not civil service employees and have different contracts, Wingrove said.

This allows the Senate to plan for two furlough days while still meeting Granholm’s budget reductions, Wingrove said. The House also formed a unique plan to meet the
furlough requirements.

“The House has achieved significant permanent savings by requiring all legislators and House staff to pay more for their health care, cut the budget for every legislator’s office and make painful staff reductions and layoffs,” state Rep. Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, said in a statement.

The House also will be laying off 10 full-time employees and 20 part-time employees, Farough said in the e-mail.

Although the Senate and House aren’t required to take the furlough days, Granholm spokeswoman Megan Brown said it would have been beneficial for the Legislature to do so.

“We believe they should lead by example (but) clearly they set their own rules,” she said.

The furlough days will end with the close of this fiscal year, but there might be more in the future, Wingrove said.

“The budget shortfall is going to be ongoing,” he said.

The remaining furlough days are scheduled to be July 6, July 24, Aug. 7, Aug. 21 and Sept. 4.