Following an Executive Committee meeting Wednesday morning, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners held a workshop to start planning the 2021 fiscal year budget. For the last several years, the county has operated under a balanced budget, but only by making up shortfalls through drawdowns from the Delinquent Tax Fund (DTF). This year, possible revenue impacts from the ongoing pandemic and a slowed economy brought the imbalance to the front of many of the commission’s conversations about money.
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St. Joseph County Administrator Teresa Doehring said the bargaining unit representing the county’s largest group of clerical employees has rejected a proposed agreement under which employees would work a reduced, 35-hour workweek for the remainder of the year. The hours reduction was a measure to attempt to mitigate ongoing revenue losses in the county.