Red Bank officials are mulling the possibility of making government employees take three unpaid days off by the end of the year, today’s Asbury Park Press reports.
The furloughs are on the table because various revenues and fee collections have fallen, borough Administrator Stanley Sickels tells the paper.
Only the police department would be exempt from the impact, he says.From the Press:
Officials are silent about whether the borough is facing a budget deficit and how much it might be.
“We are still looking at the numbers,” Sickels said. “If we see a further decline (in revenues), we may have to take more drastic steps.”
Borough officials have applied to the state for so-called extraordinary aid and an answer, one way or another, will come in July, said Frank Mason, chief financial officer. But officials admitted they are pessimistic because the state has its own budget problems.
The move toward furloughs comes in the second week of the borough’s summer hours initiative, under which borough hall employees are putting in their 40-hour shifts between Monday and Thursday, with the building closed on Fridays.
That schedule was adopted to save on energy costs, officials said.
