Anoka County dodges layoffs with careful plan, job shifts

Anoka County has no plans to lay off government employees, County Administrator Terry Johnson said Wednesday. And, despite budget constraints, the county hopes to soon fill positions that have been left open for months.

While Anoka County is experiencing the same economic pressures felt in public and private sectors nationwide, the county has avoided layoffs thanks to a strategy officials began developing last August.

"At about the time we finished up the proposed [2009] budget in August, you could see there was an obvious fiscal crisis on the way," Johnson said. "We had some open positions which we felt we didn't need to fill immediately."

Elsewhere around the metro area this week, Scott County was asking labor unions to consider letting the county trim salaries rather than lay people off, and St. Paul was preparing for cuts in services and possible layoffs to overcome a budget shortfall over the next few years.

Dennis Berg, chairman of the Anoka County Board, sent a letter to department heads in October asking that open positions not be filled unless deemed vital by the county. But there also was a plan that allowed employees to keep working, even if their positions faced elimination.

Three years ago, when federal funding vanished from a collaborative with the county, 33 county employees suddenly found themselves without jobs, recalled Jerry Soma, manager of the county's human services programs. As other positions opened, the department made room for displaced employees by sliding them into new positions, Soma said.

The same thing was done in 2003, after state funding was cut.

"We created a policy that allowed us to transfer people form one department to another," Soma said. "My goal, again, is to move somebody form an area we're downsizing to an area we're filling."

Certain jobs remain priorities -- particularly those in law enforcement and transportation, Johnson said. And that is reflected in the 2009 budget, which calls for a $7 million increase in transportation and a $2 million increase in the sheriff's budget. (Overall, the county budget jumped from $254 million in 2008 to $269 million in 2009, Johnson said.)

The jobs currently vacant run the spectrum -- an assistant county attorney, an appraiser, a land specialist, a corrections information technician, among others. Johnson said some of those jobs may be filled through funding from outside sources.

He is apprehensive about allowing some jobs to remain vacant for long. When the economy nosedives, the demand on public services rises dramatically, he said.

"We've got good, hard-working people here," he said. "The economy is suffering and people appreciate having a job.

"But taking on added work because of open jobs is doable for only a period of time. Over an extended period, that would be a problem -- especially considering the demand on our services."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419