Garrison distributes furlough proposal letters to employees

By Tim Cherry, Belvoir EagleJune 7, 2013

U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir leadership distributed 460 furlough proposal letters to employees between May 30 and June 4.

The proposal letters informed employees they're required to take one day off per week without pay between July 8 and the end of the 2013 fiscal year as a result of the automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration. The length of the furlough amounts to 11 days which is roughly 5 1/2 pay periods.

"This is going to be very challenging to our employees but we have been discussing the possibility of furloughs with our employees for months so they have been aware of the situation," said Mike Bidelman, Garrison Resources Management director.

After receiving the letters, employees have seven days to respond and appeal their furlough status. Garrison Commander Col. Gregory D. Gadson will review the appeals and determine the employee's furlough status. Employees who are notified of their furlough status must sign the proposal letter along with their first line supervisor. Gadson will distribute decision memorandum letters to all employees between June 5 and July 5.

By law, the garrison is required to provide employees 30 days notice before starting the furlough period. This gives employees time to prepare financially for the pay reduction.

The garrison presented its plans for managing the furlough period to Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, Joint Forces Headquarters National Capital Region/Military District of Washington commanding general, April 3.

"We wanted to make sure the general knows what the plan for Fort Belvoir is so he could tell us if there are any issues with the plan and back us up in case there are," said Gadson.

The Garrison Commander gave supervisors as wide a latitude as he could to spread the days out and close operations only where absolutely necessary. Garrison directorate supervisors have worked with employees to accommodate schedules and preferences for furlough days. Most garrison directorates are working on an alternating Monday and Friday furlough day schedule to keep offices open five days a week.

Alternate works schedules have also been temporarily suspended as employees will work traditional eight hour days to maximize the amount of services they can provide during the work week.

"The reality is when you reduce a department's man-hours by 20 percent, there will be a reduction in service," said Gadson. "It continues to be essential that everyone communicate their plans to their customers."

There are specific furlough exceptions, instituted by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, for employees deployed in a combat zone and foreign nationals employed outside the continental U.S. IMCOM also exempted non-appropriated fund employees, Sexual Assault Response Coordinators and Victim Advocate employees and Child Development Center employees.

Fort Belvoir life, health and safety personnel, such as non-supervisory police force and fire department workers, may also receive exemptions, according to Bidelman. Gadson will make this determination during the decision memorandum period between June 5 and July 5.

The exemption of NAF and CDC employees is critical for the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, according to Kim Mills, DFMWR director. NAF employees make up the majority of DFMWR, the directorate responsible for providing leisure and convenience services to the community. The CDC exemption allows the Belvoir community to continue using affordable childcare on post, Mills said.

"There will be no impact, because of furloughs, in childcare service," Mills said. "All child care services employees are exempt."

As a whole, the Army Community Services and Soldier Family Assistance Center's are the DFMWR facilities impacted the most by the furloughs because the facilities employ many workers that aren't NAF employees. Both facilities will have to adjust operating hours during the furlough period.

"We're making every effort to minimize the effect on the community," Mills said.