County approves layoffs, further budget cuts

On Monday morning, three county employees lost their jobs, and more layoffs are in store.

At a special meeting last Tuesday, the Gulf County Commission ordered chief administrator Don Butler and assistant Michael Hammond to reduce the county's personnel budget by $300,000.

In an interview on Monday, Butler confirmed that three employees had been terminated, their combined salaries totaling approximately $175,000.

Butler said additional employees would be laid off in the "next week or two" to meet the board's $300,000 reduction request.

Board chairman Carmen McLemore lobbied for the cuts, which commissioners unanimously approved, despite some concerns raised by commissioner Nathan Peters, Jr.

Peters sought more oversight in the firing process, saying, "I want to be able to maybe evaluate these cuts before they're finalized."

Expressing concern that some highly qualified employees could lose their jobs, Peters cautioned, "You could cut somebody that the county can not afford to lose and I want to make sure that doesn't happen."

McLemore countered by saying the board needs to "get out of it," leaving the decisions up to Butler and Hammond, "who know who we can afford to lose."

Commissioner Warren Yeager agreed with McLemore, saying, "If we as board members get involved, politics will get involved."

Yeager asked Peters to voice his concerns about specific employees to Butler and Hammond before they make their final decisions.

In addition to the layoffs, the board also approved cutting from all county-funded budgets the equivalent of one week's pay for all county employees.

  The county budget committee, comprised of Butler, all constitutional officers and several department heads, initially recommended that the county institute week-long unpaid furloughs for all county employees.

According to Butler, the proposal ran into a snag because it did not account for essential employees such as those from the sheriff's office and EMS.

 The commissioners' motion, which passed 5-0, would cut the equivalent of one week's pay from each budget, whether employees went home or not. According to Butler, the savings would be in excess of $100,000.

"No one is going home for a week unless a constitutional officer desires it," Butler said on Monday, adding, "I don't know of anyone telling an employee to go home."

Commissioners repeatedly stressed that the 2010-2011 budget process would not be easy.

"This is going to be the most difficult budget we've gone through," said commissioner Bill Williams. "It's going to be painful in the process."

Of particular concern to commissioners were employees impacted by the layoffs.

"This is going to affect everyday life for people," said McLemore, who asked that the board assist laid off workers with counseling.

Williams asked that the board partner with the Economic Development Council and Gulf Coast Workforce Board, which the board recently selected to direct its Community Services Block Grant program, to provide job relocation assistance.

In light of the layoffs and budget cuts, Williams stressed the need to educate the public on the county's inevitable reduction of services.

In other business:

Addressing the across-the-board 3 percent budget cut approved by the board during its last meeting, Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent said his office receives quarterly, and not monthly funding like other county departments. 

Holding 3 percent in a reserve account would make it difficult to pay bills, said Nugent, who pledged to reduce his budget as funds became available.

Citing a good working relationship with Nugent, McLemore said he had "no problem" with the proposal.

"Law enforcement and ambulance service – that's top priority to me," he said.