Citywide, about 107 employees have signed up for the voluntary furloughs, Lahanas said.

That number includes city directors, union workers and nonunion workers.

Those who volunteered the unpaid days off may take them anytime until June 30, 2010.

City directors chose to take furloughs as a measure to save the city money, but Lahanas said the time off should not cut into productivity.

“I intend to take them a part at a time,” he said. “It doesn’t mean taking more time than I would normally take — just taking furlough time in lieu of vacation time.”

East Lansing department directors all signed up for five days off, City Manager Ted Staton wrote in an e-mail.

Four city employee unions also signed up to take furlough days, but the city will not know the exact number of union furloughs for about two weeks, Staton said.

Currently, the furloughs are estimated to save the city $70,000 on its 2009 fiscal year budget, and the city hopes to exceed $100,000 in savings, Staton said.

East Lansing plans to use the money toward the city’s outstanding budget deficit.

“The money will be used to help close a $2 million budget gap and help prevent employee layoffs,” Staton said.

State of Michigan employees also took six furlough days during the 2009 fiscal year, and could be forced to take more of the mandatory days off before the budget drops Sept. 30, according to a Michigan Department of Management and Budget press release.

More than 37,000 employees have been furloughed already, the release said.

The move will save Michigan $21.7 million this fiscal year.

MSU employees have not taken a furlough, said Tom Oswald, an MSU spokesman.

But for East Lansing employees, the furlough outweighed layoffs.

“I’ll sacrifice a little something as well,” Lahanas said. “It’s not a tremendous sacrifice, but it’s a week of time.”