By Elizabeth Ruiz
Joint Base San Antonio officials have been holding town hall meetings to discuss automatic spending cuts and how that will affect thousands of local Department of Defense employees.
The sequestration cuts scheduled to go into effect Friday would mean furloughs for federal employees, not only in San Antonio, but across the country.
The sequestration cuts scheduled to go into effect Friday would mean furloughs for federal employees, not only in San Antonio, but across the country.
"We have about 20,000 DOD federal civilians in San Antonio and almost all will be affected by a potential furlough," said Joint Base San Antonio spokesman Brent Boller.
He told 550 KTSA News that town hall meetings were held Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Fort Sam Houston. Another town hall is scheduled Monday at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph to discuss the process and answer any questions local DOD employees may have.
Although the spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect Friday, the furloughs wouldn't begin until April.
"The military services and defense agencies would be required to furlough civilian employees for an average of one day per week, for up to 22 weeks, beginning on the 25th of April," said Boller.
He says they want to prepare workers for the possible cut in pay.
"One day a week or 8 hours equals a 20 percent reduction in pay for each individual DOD civilian worker during that furlough period, which will last nearly 6 months," said Boller.
The reduction in pay could take a toll on many local families.
"Just like any cross section of the community, our DOD employees have different financial situations. Some have savings built up or other means of support, while others are living paycheck-to-paycheck," said Boller.
Furloughs would also mean a reduction in services.
"From the standpoint of the 502nd Air Base Wing, which provides support to more than 200 missions across Joint Base San Antonio, gate hours could be affected, as well as logistics, contracting, fire and security services, to some degree. ID card issuance for active duty and retired personnel, civil engineering projects, legal services and a myraid of other services could be affected," said Boller.
photos: en.wikipedia.org; politico.com; fcw.com
Although the spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect Friday, the furloughs wouldn't begin until April.
"The military services and defense agencies would be required to furlough civilian employees for an average of one day per week, for up to 22 weeks, beginning on the 25th of April," said Boller.
He says they want to prepare workers for the possible cut in pay.
"One day a week or 8 hours equals a 20 percent reduction in pay for each individual DOD civilian worker during that furlough period, which will last nearly 6 months," said Boller.
The reduction in pay could take a toll on many local families.
"Just like any cross section of the community, our DOD employees have different financial situations. Some have savings built up or other means of support, while others are living paycheck-to-paycheck," said Boller.
Furloughs would also mean a reduction in services.
"From the standpoint of the 502nd Air Base Wing, which provides support to more than 200 missions across Joint Base San Antonio, gate hours could be affected, as well as logistics, contracting, fire and security services, to some degree. ID card issuance for active duty and retired personnel, civil engineering projects, legal services and a myraid of other services could be affected," said Boller.
photos: en.wikipedia.org; politico.com; fcw.com
