The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the participation of county employees in the State of Michigan’s Work Share program and will reduce employee work hours anywhere from 20% – 60% each week starting immediately through July 25, 2020. This is in addition to the 100 full-time employee furloughs that began in mid-April.

After having consulted with the chief judges of the Muskegon County Courts, elected officials, and department heads, the Board determined that a fiscal emergency requires temporary limited access to certain county facilities, including the Hall of Justice. Generally, county departments conducting 24/7 operations and mandated services will not be affected. Muskegon County will continue to follow the recent extension of the Governor’s Stay Home Stay Safe Executive Order issued May 22, 2020, which remains in effect until June 12, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

In response to the Board’s decision, the courts as well as many county departments have agreed to temporarily reduce hours of operation from May 25, 2020 to July 25, 2020 while other departments will begin June 1st.

Reduced hours will be Monday through Thursday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. As an exception, due to the July 4, 2020 holiday being observed on Friday, July 3, 2020, courts will have limited access on Thursday, July 2, 2020. Each court will continue to follow procedures for all emergency matters as outlined by Local Administrative Order 2020-03J. This limited access plan will not impact the courts’ mandate for a phased return to full capacity as required by the Michigan Supreme Court in Administrative Order 2020-14.

In all, the County will have approximately 400 employees furloughed through July 25th. The County’s proactive measures to offset anticipated revenue losses from COVID-19 are estimated to save approximately $1.8 million across all departments.

The following County Department Offices, deemed essential by Executive Order 2020-96, will operate with a reduced workforce on Fridays:

Airport, HealthWest, Jail, JTC, MATS, Parks, Prosecutor, Public Health, Sheriff, Solid Waste, Treasurer, Wastewater and Water.

All other departments will operate Monday through Thursday.