In response to recent funding cuts from both its sponsor counties, Cornell Cooperative Extension in Fulton and Montgomery Counties informed staff Tuesday of reduced work hours effective next month.
Many local association employees will see their work schedule reduced by one or two days per week effective Feb. 1.
The cut in work hours follows the elimination of two positions late last month – one layoff and one attrition reduction. In addition, two longtime employees retired at the end of December.
The CCEFM Board of Directors met Monday to enact the staff hour reductions. The loss of positions and the cut in work hours reflects a 25 percent reduction in personnel cost for the association.
Also in an effort to cut costs, the CCEFM Board of Directors decided the association will soon move its offices. While details are still in the works, plans are being readied to relocate the CCEFM offices to smaller and less expensive space in the village of Canajoharie.
For 2011, the boards of supervisors in both Fulton and Montgomery Counties reduced funding for CCEFM. Fulton County reduced its funding by approximately $50,000 and Montgomery County reduced its funding by $93,000.
Over the last several weeks, the CCEFM Board of Directors met several times reviewing all association programs. While many programs will be reduced, the board is confident continued offerings will allow the association to offer vital education to the public in the areas of 4-H youth development, nutrition and health, consumer and financial literacy program, energy conservation and regional agriculture programs.
Programs that will see reductions include nutrition and health and consumer and financial literacy education. While various components of the nutrition and consumer/financial programs will remain, many of the community groups and agencies that called on Cooperative Extension for programming will no longer have these educational services available to them. Nutrition education programs at local farmers markets have also been eliminated.
The 4-H program will see reductions with programming in the areas of dog obedience and dog agility, 4-H vegetable marketing, holiday workshops and the annual Clover Combo Classic Run and Walk now eliminated.
4-H school and after-school programs are also being reduced. Many schools and teachers will be limited to the number of programs that can be accessed during the school year.
Ten 4-H activities at the Fonda Fair have been eliminated and further reductions of activities across all program areas at the Fonda Fair are being considered.
Through the course of our budget deliberations, the CCEFM Board of Directors and I attempted to lay off as few employees as possible so that the association could continue to provide vital programming to the community. The board felt work week reductions were preferable to layoffs. This is the same philosophy we followed last year when each staff member was given a two-week furlough which saved the elimination of a full-time employee.
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