Monroe County to furlough 61 employees due to COVID-19 crisis
Monroe County commissioners on Wednesday voted to furlough 61 employees to make up for revenue losses in the tourism-dependent Florida Keys due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The policy, which lasts for 16 weeks and will save $733,000, is retroactive to April 12.
Due to the county being shut down to tourists with hotels ordered closed and restaurants reduced to takeout and delivery only, the Keys are looking at missing out on millions in revenue for the fiscal year, county staff said.
The county has 565 full- and part-time employees and several other temporary positions and a $173 million operating budget.
Hotel room occupancy in the Keys is down 90 percent, said County Administrator Roman Gastesi.
“The question is how much are we not going to see,” Gastesi told commissioners, guessing the losses will be from $5 million to $7 million out of the estimated $15.5 million in projected capital revenue.
“Everything will bounce back,” Gastesi said. “But it’s gone for now.”
The 16-week furlough plan was announced by county staff on April 7, the same day employees learned of it, as a way to save between $500,000 and $1.7 million, depending on how many employees were selected.
Gastesi initially estimated at least 30 employees and up to 100 would be affected.
On Wednesday, though, Gastesi asked the five commissioners to approve a plan to furlough 47 employees and partially furlough an additional 14.
They voted 4-1 in favor, with Commissioner Sylvia Murphy of Key Largo opposing it.
“We have to figure out a different way,” Murphy said before the vote. “Something that isn’t a person. Something that doesn’t need to pay bills and buy groceries, like a project that can wait until next year.”
County Budget and Finance Director Tina Boan, however, said certain taxes can only go toward capital projects by law.
“It hurts,” Boan said of the plan she’s been working on with Gastesi for three weeks. “I don’t want to have to do this again. We’re going to have to do it.”
Furloughed employees will keep their health insurance benefits and will be allowed to take as much sick time, vacation or comp time as they have accrued.
Gastesi said the furloughed could receive up to $875 per week in unemployment benefits.
Brian Cook, Monroe’s human resources director, said the payroll schedule will allow the furloughed to receive one more paycheck.
“They’ll get a paycheck next Friday that gives them this and next week to begin unemployment processes,” Cook said.
“Nobody likes the idea of furloughs,” Cook said. “It’s just an unpleasant business.”
County Mayor Heather Carruthers reminded everyone that certain divisions of the county, like libraries and the building department, aren’t open to the public due to the pandemic and the county is under the governor’s “Safer at Home” directive to leave home only for essential activities such as grocery shopping.
“There is no reason for some of those folks to come to work even if we didn’t furlough them,” Carruthers said. “The question is is it fair to taxpayers to pay people if they don’t actually have work to do?’’
County staff also proposed paying workers who come into direct contact with the public time and a half since they could be exposed to the novel coronavirus.
But the commission shot that down, saying it would defeat the purpose of furloughing 61 workers.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 6:17 PM.
%20Cropped%20(1).jpg)