By RONNIE ELLIS
CNHI
FRANKFORT —
State parks will be open. Kentucky State Police will patrol. Mental health workers will be on the job and some, but not all, county clerk offices will be open — but, short of a last-minute injunction by Franklin Circuit Court, most of state government will be closed Friday.
That’s the first of three executive branch-wide furlough days set by Gov. Steve Beshear as he tries to achieve $131 million in budget savings required by the two-year budget enacted this spring by the General Assembly.
The furlough plan includes three common days during which state offices will be closed that are adjacent to existing state holiday weekends – Friday (Labor Day weekend); Friday, Nov.12 (Veterans Day weekend); and Friday, May 27, 2011 (Memorial Day weekend). In addition, employees will be furloughed for three other days during the fiscal year. In all, the furloughs are expected to produce about $24 million of the $131 million in savings.
“By scheduling this furlough day on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, I hope we will lessen the impact to citizens who rely on state services,” said Beshear.
Kerri Richardson, Beshear’s spokeswoman, said the governor “will be furloughed but he will be working. He’s always governor.” Beshear will lose one day of pay – on top of the 10 percent of his salary he’s already voluntarily given back to the state during the lean budget times.
Some union-represented state employees are seeking an injunction in Franklin Circuit Court to halt the furloughs in maintaining furloughs of corrections officers, state police, mental health workers and others represent a threat to safety. As of press time Monday, Judge Phillip Shepherd had issued no ruling in the case. Since the case was filed, Beshear has exempted state police, correctional officers, mental health workers and others from the plan.
Shelley Johnson, of the Attorney General’s Office, said prosecutors are not furloughed, though some of their staff may be. Courts aren’t part of the executive branch and have already undergone significant layoffs and budget cuts – but that doesn’t mean they aren’t affected.
Public defenders are covered by the furlough policy, so criminal cases – at least those requiring a public defender – won’t be on the docket Friday.
Mary Ann Palmer, General Counsel for the Office of Public Advocacy, said her office was to be notified in advance if any public defenders were required to be present in court Friday.
“At this point, we have not received any requests for exemptions, so we’re assuming there won’t be any criminal dockets,” Palmer said.
Most offices in the state capitol will be closed down Friday, but that won’t keep Larry Hall from opening his snack shop, part of the Department of the Blind Business Enterprise Program, in the basement of the capitol.
Hall, who is legally blind, expects fewer than 50 people or so in the capitol Friday but he’ll be there to serve them.
“You don’t want people to get in habit of going somewhere else,” said Hall. Hall’s shop is a frequent stop for many who work in the state capitol, including reporters and employees of the constitutional offices housed in the building. He said most state employees who come in his shop aren’t happy about the furloughs, preferring the pay to the day off.
But not everyone will be off Friday.
The Transportation Cabinet’s AVIS system, used by county clerks for vehicle registration, will be manned, according to the governor’s office. But clerks weren’t notified of that until Monday and some had already advertised they would be closed Friday, said Les Fugate, Assistant Deputy Secretary of State. Some which had planned to close will now be open he said, but others will remain closed and he advised checking with the local clerk to be sure.
Other services and offices that will remain open are state parks, the Kentucky Horse Park, and state welcome centers. The Transportation Cabinet’s drivers’ licensing information system will be manned for use by circuit clerks and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Kentucky Automated Support Enforcement System, used for processing child support disbursements, will be operational.
State employees assigned to active highway projects are to report to work Friday and facilities such as juvenile justice facilities have arranged furlough schedules so regular schedules and hours of operation won’t be interrupted.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
