Maine Shuts Operations, for a Day
Maine’s cash-strapped state government closed on Friday and more than 10,000 workers stayed home for the first of two one-day shutdowns to save money.
Hundreds of prison guards, state police and other essential workers were required to work, although it may be years before they are paid for the day, officials said.
The shutdowns are designed to help bridge a $77-million gap in Maine’s budget for the fiscal year, which ends June 30. The next shutdown is scheduled for May 24. Each closing is expected to save the state about $1 million.
“Despite it all, we’re proud to be state workers,” Mary Ann Turowski, president of the Maine State Employees Assn., told demonstrators outside the governor’s residence Friday.
The state’s 13,500 state employees will forgo pay for the two days until they leave state service. The 1,000 to 2,000 essential employees who were required to work also will receive compensatory time off. The Maine closing follows a similar shutdown recently in Rhode Island.
The state Employee Relations Bureau said reports from Administration officials indicated a generally calm day Friday. Only two of 282 prison employees scheduled to work called in sick, Corrections Commissioner Donald Allen said.
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