Madison County Commissioner threatens to stop payroll

ANDERSON - A Madison County Commissioner is threatening to withhold his signature from the county payroll if departments don't comply with a mandate for employees to take four days off without pay.

Paul Wilson, who is one of three county commissioners, said his decision comes as reports surfaced that the sheriff's department was balking at county-ordered furloughs.

As a result, the Madison County Council will likely revisit its furlough order at a special meeting Tuesday.

Last month, the county council, facing a budget deficit, asked all county departments paid from the general fund to force employees to take four days off without pay.

However, the sheriff's department has said it can't take the furloughs.

Wilson, as a county commissioner, said he will not sign the payroll for any department that doesn't comply with the furlough order.

Financial powers rest with a county council. However, county commissioners authorize and sign financial claims.

County Auditor Kathy Stoops-Wright said it appears that all county departments are complying with the request, but the sheriff's department said it will not mandate employee furloughs for its essential personnel.

Major Brian Bell of the Madison County Sheriff's Department said none of the sheriff's deputies or correctional officers at the county jail will take unpaid leave.

Deputies and corrections officers work in a 24-hour environment and forcing employees to take unpaid leave would lead to unnecessary overtime pay, diminishing any cost savings to the county, Bell said.

"We have not taken that action, because we didn't want to increase the overtime," Bell said.

During a public meeting Tuesday, Wilson asked Stoops-Wright to keep track of county offices that have chosen not to comply with the furlough order.

Wilson told The Herald Bulletin that he will enforce the furlough request in his role as one of the two required signatures on county payroll approvals.

Commissioners Jeff Hardin and John Richwine could not be reached for comment Thursday.

"Unless I get another order from the fiscal body changing that, in those areas where there's not compliance I will not sign off on payroll."

The next payroll period for county employees ends Dec. 19.

Wilson said his decision is not meant to target the sheriff's department. "I'm not making any judgment on any department."

The county commissioners, he said, must follow the directive of the county council.

The commissioners recently ordered the county building closed for two days in order to help comply with the furlough order.

"It's our job as the check- and-balance system on paying the bills to make sure the directives issued are complied with," Wilson said.

Though county sheriff's deputies and corrections officers are not taking furloughs, Bell said the sheriff's department is making cuts to help the county budget.

Officers, he said, are choosing not to work on holidays, saving the county holiday pay.

Some sheriff's department employees have taken voluntary days off to help with the budget, he said.

Though he could not provide an estimate of the cost savings provided by these measures, Bell said he plans to present the final tally to the county council on Tuesday.

"The sheriff's department is not trying to shirk any responsibility," Bell said. "If we would've done what the council wanted, there would've been very little cost savings to the county because of the overtime it would take to accomplish that."

Madison County Council members Gary Gustin and Bill Savage say they understand the sheriff's department's decision not to comply with the furlough order.

After speaking with Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson, Gustin said he understands that leaving the jail understaffed would become a safety concern.

"It wasn't our intention to put an officer's safety at issue," Gustin said. "I don't feel like they were ignoring my request. He (Richardson) felt it was going to put a jail safety issue in place. They didn't feel like they could do that."

Savage said he agreed that forcing furloughs upon emergency workers isn't feasible. "Those guys are 24/7. It didn't make any sense. It was going to cost more money for the county. The whole idea was going to try and save money."

The furloughs may have also invited a union lawsuit, Savage said.

"With the sheriff's deputies, their union contract was written in such a way that every one of their jobs was itemized in a certain amount for the year. If the sheriff's deputies were ordered to take four days off, it would have been a violation of their contract. We didn't need the union to file a lawsuit against the county, we didn't need that either."

Gustin said he regretted the challenges presented by the furloughs he proposed, but said the county was running out of time to cut the budget. "When I make the motion, I didn't plan on all these struggles, but you can't put lives in danger either."

Both Gustin and Savage said the council will discuss problems caused by the furloughs during the county council's special meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.