HUDSON — A six-day furlough for corrections officers and staff at the Columbia County Jail will continue after an attempt to overturn it, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled Wednesday.
The Columbia County Board of Supervisors at a special meeting on June 4 decided that corrections officers would be furloughed over six days as part of a cost-saving measure to help minimize financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Columbia County Corrections Officers Benevolent Association argued in its case that the furloughs violated the U.S. Constitution and the losses claimed by the county were speculative, the union asserted in court papers.
“We’re projecting a pretty sizable deficit for the county because of COVID-19,” said Matt Murell, chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday. “We tried to work this through so that we could save the money we need to save, but also protect our employees.”
The Board of Supervisors took a variety of steps to try to make up for the deficit, including reducing the budgets for all of their departments by 20% so the county would not have to resort to layoffs or deeper budget cuts, Murell said.
U.S. District Judge Brenda K. Sannes denied the union’s request for a temporary restraining order and an injunction to overturn the furlough.
The furlough calls for corrections officers and staff at the county jail to take one unpaid day off each month, until November, when the furlough will be reviewed again.
The county expects to save about $65,000 as a result of the furlough, according to court papers.
“The involuntary furlough reduces an employee’s pay approximately 5% for six months,” said Matthew Hogencamp, president of the Columbia County Corrections Officer’s Benevolent Association, in the union’s document.
“The involuntary furlough reduces an employee’s pay approximately 5% for six months, which adversely affects workers’ efforts to support themselves and their families, including their ability to pay rent, mortgages or car payments; buy necessities such as food, clothing, or fuel; pay educational expenses; and, otherwise satisfy outstanding financial commitments,” according to union claims in the court papers.
Columbia County proposed a six-day furlough for the corrections officers as well as for the sheriff’s office, Murell said.
The sheriff’s department proposed a series of givebacks that equaled the amount of savings from the proposed furlough.
The givebacks included employees paying for their own physical exams, as well as other givebacks in the same amount as the furlough, Murell said.
“Corrections — we offered them the six-day furlough as well, and they came up with some alternative ideas which actually weren’t going to save us money,” Murell said.
Columbia County Treasurer P.J. Keeler projected that the county could have a $12 million shortfall this year because of losses caused by COVID-19, according to court papers.
Because of the various cost-saving measures the county implemented, there have not been any layoffs of county employees since the pandemic began, Murell said.