State board OKs furloughs, job cuts

BILLINGS (AP) — The state Board of Livestock has voted to cut five jobs and furlough other workers at the Montana Livestock Department to cope with a substantial budget shortfall.

Vacant positions will remain unfilled, and five others will be eliminated. Furloughs down to a 36-hour work week through the end of June also were approved to deal with a six-figure imbalance.

“If we continue at this rate, we could be $225,000 over where we were last year,” said Christian Mackay, the department’s chief executive officer.

The department is struggling with several long-term revenue issues. It has struggled to fund its brucellosis testing program through fees collected from ranchers. State general fund support for its diagnostic lab also has declined. Income from brand inspections also is down due to rising labor costs.

Board members approved the cuts Thursday but were skeptical about whether the reductions were deep enough. An information technology post needs to be filled, and at some point some of the jobs left vacant will need to be filled.

A few employees said they would rather take a cut in hours than lose their job entirely.

Employees losing their jobs this month would be off the payroll by the day after Christmas, though some have already been given two weeks’ notice. No severance pay was offered.

The department has a $10 million annual budget and about 140 workers.