City unions reject furloughs

A key part of the Omaha City Council's budget plans fell apart Friday as the city's major unions rejected proposals to save money through furloughs, saying they would hurt public safety.

“Furloughs burned out,” Council President Garry Gernandt said.

As the council prepares to vote Tuesday on the 2010 budget, the collapse of the furlough option undermines efforts to avoid tax increases or layoffs.

Last week, five council members offered a plan to replace Mayor Jim Suttle's proposed entertainment tax with a package of cuts that relied heavily on two-week, unpaid furloughs for all city employees. The furloughs would have saved an estimated $7.8 million.

Council members were notified late Friday that the police and fire unions had rejected furloughs. The main civilian union, Local 251, had said it would go along only if the police and fire unions did, Gernandt said.

City officials have said they cannot unilaterally impose furloughs without union approval. The five council members acknowledged that limitation last week, urging Suttle and the unions to work together to solve the city's budget crisis.

The city has an $11 million gap between revenues and expenditures for next year.

Councilman Franklin Thompson held out hope that some kind of furlough plan could be worked out through last-minute negotiations. Without a furlough deal, he said, only two major options are left: “the mayor's tax hikes or outright layoffs.”

Neither option is pleasant, Gernandt said, but they might be unavoidable as the council scrambles to put together a budget.

“Tuesday will be an exhausting day for all of us,” he said.

Contact the writer:

444-1149, tom.shaw@owh.com

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