Mandatory Time Off program for many county offices

Many Sonoma County offices will be closed between Dec. 24, 2009 and Jan. 3, 2010 due to a Mandatory Time Off program adopted by the county to save money and help balance the budget.

The Mandatory Time Off program, which is expected to save the county $4.3 million, enabled the board of supervisors to preserve many important programs and services that would otherwise have been cut from the county’s budget.

Under the Mandatory Time Off program, nearly all county employees will take five unpaid days off of work during this fiscal year.  The majority of these days off will occur during the December closure.

A full list of office closures is available on the county’s web site at www.sonoma-county.org/mto.htm.
It is important to note that certain services, such as law enforcement, water delivery, transportation and some health services will continue without interruption.

The dates of the Mandatory Time Off closures are Dec. 24, and the week of Dec. 28 through Jan. 1.  County offices will reopen Jan. 4, 2010.  This time period was selected for Mandatory Time Off because it typically has a lower demand for services than other times of the year.