Union on potential Kane County layoffs: 'It's sinful'

Up to 11 Kane County Circuit Clerk employees would lose their jobs if the county decides to balance its budget solely with personnel cuts, according to a union estimate.

That would only add more molasses to the already slow wheels of justice, said Joe Bella, regional director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The union represents about 200 county employees in five departments. The county is considering unpaid, involuntary time off for nonunion employees to help trim $3.8 million out of the budget and avoid closing the books in the red for the second straight year. There is no provision allowing furlough days in the county's union contracts. The only option being considered for them is layoffs.

AFSCME represents about one-third of unionized county employees, but Bella said only employees in the circuit clerk's office have received notice of a potential layoff. The union's contract requires a 30-day notice before any layoffs can occur, Bella said. The county board is set to lock in budget cuts May 12. That means the circuit clerk employees, at this point, are the only ones who could be laid off without a legal battle over proper notice unless the county pushes back its schedule and issues more notices soon.

Any layoff notices, including the ones the circuit clerk employees received, are "absurd," Bella said.

"It's very unfair, from our standpoint, that they are more or less balancing their individual department budgets on the backs of the employees who do all the work in the county," Bella said. "I have no indication from anybody that these employees don't have enough work to do. So it amounts to a cutback in necessary government services."

Bella said the starting salary for an employee in the circuit clerk's office is $18,000. Being forced to take one furlough day a month amounts to a pay cut of nearly 5 percent.

"It's unfathomable to the union that they put the entire burden on the union employees," Bella said. "This is a big crisis, and I believe that there are budget problems in Kane County just as there are in just about all local governments. But we're astounded that the county is talking about these budget cuts only in terms of employees. It's sinful."

Bella said no county officials, to date, have sat down to talk with the union about other ways to address the budget shortfall. AFSCME members met Friday to come up with suggested cuts of their own to stave off any cuts to jobs, salaries or hours worked.

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said she's open to hearing any ideas the employees come up with. However, she said it's important for employees to realize that government is not immune to the pay cuts, furloughs and layoffs the private sector has already had to put in place.

"Anyone who has lost their job or lost their home thinks what's going on around them is pretty unfair, too," McConnaughay said. "The reality is that the revenue is just simply not there."

The county board is set to adopt a furlough policy Tuesday.