A December 7 Washington Post blog post announces that Montgomery County will furlough its planning department for five days at the end of this year.
The department will close its headquarters in Silver Spring from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. The five-day furlough is a part of a cost-saving strategy for the department’s fiscal year 2012 operating budget, department spokeswoman Valerie Berton said Wednesday.
Montgomery County Department of Parks, also part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), has been forced to take similar upaid furlough hours/days in FY 2012 for budgetary reasons. Because Montgomery County’s 415 parks are open 7 days a week and unable to be closed or locked for a week, Parks employees are taking the equivalent of an unpaid furlough period on staggered dates throughout the year.