Boots & Sabers

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1200, 28 Apr 20

Washington County Considers Mandatory Furlough Program

Nobody wishes ill on our neighbors who work for government, but these kinds of things will become more necessary as the people’s ability to pay is severely retarded by Governor Evers.

April 28, 2020 – Washington Co., WI – Details are coming in slowly however it appears Washington County is looking to implement a Mandatory Furlough Program for some of its employees. The five days of furlough are tied to an upcoming fiscal impact from COVID-19 pandemic. Details regarding a projected $3 million to $5 million drop in revenue are below.

Other details according to the Public Affairs Coordinator Ethan Hollenberger:

Employees must pick five furlough days between May 7 and Dec 31. They can take one per calendar week. Paid holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, etc) are eligible as days to pick to be on furlough.  Employees will work with their supervisor to pick the days that best work for them.

Long term, I don’t think this will be enough, unfortunately, but it’s a step in a necessary direction.

On another note, this stuck out to me from another story about a local government dealing with lesser revenue:

The city’s golf courses, even after reopening this week, are expected to lose $165,200 in revenue. Gagin said he does not see a viable option for the golf courses remaining open without help from the city’s general fund.

I have complained for years that the county should not be in the business of operating a golf course. The push back I got – even from fellow conservatives – was that the golf course actually made money. True, I said, but the taxpayers are on the hook if it doesn’t. Well, here we go… and now it’s too late to sell the golf course. The buyers are drying up with the economy. There’s a good chance that the taxpayer of Washington County will be asked to cover costs at the Washington County Golf Course, abandon it, or sell it for pennies on the dollar. Let’s check back in on the budget in a few months.

 

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1200, 28 April 2020

1 Comment

  1. Mar

    My question is this: Has the golf course made money for the County over the years and this is a 1 time assistance or have they been coming to the County on regular basis, hat in hand?
    If this is a 1 time occurence then I can see the benefits of owning the golf course.
    If they regularly ask for money, then they should sell the course because they don’t know how to run the course.

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