By Jim Reece - Budget woes in Amador County threatened lay-offs of county workers last week. County Administrative Officer Terri Daly proposed several ways to help the county meet the budget, while considering “equitable distribution of any negative impact to all employees … and all departments; as little as possible negative impact to services delivered to Amador County residents; and “Management of potential catastrophic impact to future year budgets.” She said she received a response from one employee union that would not consider unpaid furlough time. And eliminating the Cost of Living Adjustment across all employee units was not considered. “While the Board of Supervisors feels the mandatory furlough days is the most fair option, the option of any number of mandated unpaid furlough days is no longer under consideration due to lack of consensus among the bargaining units,” Daly wrote. Daly recommended and the Board of Supervisors approved a “hard hiring freeze,” with no new hires, no changes from part-time to full-time, and no promotions. The tactics balanced the budget for this year, But she warned: “If we encounter any unforeseen negative budget hits, layoffs will be the only option to compensate.” That includes State budget cuts to programs or County revenue. Daly said she was “very concerned that we no longer have any insurance in our budget to cover any unusual event.” She was also concerned that next year’s budget may be even worse. And savings from the Early Retirement Incentive program will now potentially just bring the county into balance next year and not provide any means for returning to “normal” In other words, these options are not available next year; the only option will be lay-offs. The voluntary furlough program is still available and Daly will discuss options with department heads.