Budget Woes
Time off (without pay): Mayor Parker announces mandatory furlough for many cityworkers
Mayor Annise Parker announced the implementation of a mandatory furlough program for City of Houston employees Thursday morning.
The program requires employees of the city to take six unpaid days off in the next six months, which comes out to one day a month during the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. The program does not apply to members of the Houston Police Department, Houston Fire Department, or to city employees making less than $24,000 per year.
The mandatory furloughs come after a voluntary program was implemented this month. The mandatory program is expected to save the city around $5 million. Budget cuts are still expected across city departments, including slashing employee health benefits, as the administration continues to struggle with an estimated $50 million to $80 million 2011 deficit.
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky