Few more details on county layoffs

So, on Tuesday I called over to the Deathstar to get an exact list of the folks – the real bodies – who would lose their jobs under county Mayor Tim Burchett's proposed budget.

No, I wasn't going to name them. But, I did want to list the positions, the years worked and the salaries. Well, the administration didn't want to provide the list. Or they couldn't. I can't remember. It's supposedly in flux. Which I'm not buying. Because they knew who was/is getting laid off.

Here's the real reason that list wasn't turned over: The top dogs on the sixth floor didn't bother telling their department heads who was staying and who was going. Sure, during the past few months, they've met with the directors. And they've talked about the offices' respective budgets.

But, it wasn't until Monday that they actually publicly released them. So, even the directors – the bosses of the people getting the ax – didn't know. I hear a lot of talk about running government like a business. I'm not sure this is the way businesses do things. Usually the employees know before the paperwork – in this case, the budget – is made public.

I'm rambling here, I know. Anyway, I don't have the details of the bodies. But there appears to be eight full-time people, two part-time and someone they'll keep through October.

The departments hit include: the legislative delegation (1 FT), human resources (3 FT), senior centers (1 FT, 1 PT), finance (1 PT), park maintenance (1 FT) and information technology (2 FT – one which will be funded through October).

The rest of the cuts (a little more than 30 total) come from vacant positions.

Here's a better breakdown right smack here from a sheet I ordered up from the county.

The total savings, including benefits, is $1,745,525.86.

Now, when you look at that document (again – it's right here) you'll notice that the mayor's office has eliminated one position. Don't let them kid you. That job was really cut a long time ago. Burchett did it when he took office. Admirable to do it? Sure. Admirable to claim it now? No.

By the way, I talked to the administration's chief of staff, Dean Rice, about why they didn't tell directors before Monday about the specific cuts.

i didn't get much out of him.

“Those are conversations we're having with our department heads this week,” he said Tuesday. “It's not easy to have these conversations. There's no perfect time.”

He's right. There's never a perfect time.

But timing is everything. And the wrong time is to do it too late. Like any time after Monday.