Baltimore shifts mandatory furlough day to Wednesday 

Posted: 6:50 pm Tue, February 9, 2010
By Robbie Whelan
Daily Record Business Writer

Ahead of a major snowstorm that is expected to drop between 10 and 20 additional inches of snow on Baltimore, city officials announced that the fifth mandatory furlough day to be taken this year by municipal employees will be taken on Wednesday, rather than on May 28.

In an e-mail sent to city employees, agency heads and human resources officers Tuesday, city Labor Commissioner Deborah F. Moore-Carter said that the City Union of Baltimore and the Managerial and Professional Society of Baltimore Inc., the two major unions representing city workers, had approved the switch.

“This change in the designated mandatory furlough days will not apply to employees who work in trash and recycling collection, certain court operations, 24/7 operations, employees involved in snow removal operations or support of snow removal operations, or certain employees of the Fire and Police Departments,” the letter read.

As of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service had issued a winter storm warning for the Baltimore area, lasting through 6 p.m. Wednesday and predicting snow, sleet and freezing rain across the weekend.

This second round of snowfall comes after the region was hit with between two and three feet of snow over the weekend, making many city roads impassable and keeping thousands of city residents indoors. On Friday the governor declared a state of a emergency and state legislative sessions ended early. Many government agencies were closed Monday.

At around 2 p.m. Tuesday, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake issued a statement detailing preparations for the next storm, including the suspension of rotating closures at city fire companies, setting up two emergency shelters for displaced city residents, creating an emergency assistance plan for 800 city dialysis patients and ordering the Department of Transportation to acquire “additional out-of-state resources” to melt snow from city streets.

“This is an unprecedented emergency event and Baltimore has a history of working together to overcome adversity,” Rawlings-Blake said in the statement. “The entire city — government, business and citizens — must work together now to get through this crisis.”

Neither Rawlings-Blake nor Moore-Carter could be immediately reached for comment.

The city approved the furlough plan in September as a way of trimming $13.5 million from a projected $60.2 million budget shortfall for FY 2010. At the time, then-Mayor Sheila Dixon said the furlough plan would keep the city from having to lay off 400 city workers.