Carbon County is extending the furloughs of some of its employees until July 31.

On Thursday, Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein announced the extension for approximately 80 county employees as a result of the pandemic.

Carbon County moved into the yellow phase Friday and is beginning the process of slowly reopening, but county offices are still remaining by appointment to limit the exposure employees and the public have.

“We are calling people back as needed in the offices now,” Nothstein said, adding that approvals to bring people back in various row offices have been determined based on the need they have to effective accomplish their workloads while still remaining safe.

About a dozen employees have been called back, including parking lot employees and Mauch Chunk Lake Park employees, who need to prepare for the opening of the park, which is also open today for county residents who have reserved camping sites.

Commissioners Chris Lukasevich and Rocky Ahner echoed Nothstein’s thoughts on the furlough, saying they want to make sure they do this slowly for the best outcome, while also maintaining the services that are needed for the county.

“It’s about a safe, responsible reemergence of business activity, daily life for us and for the county, a reemergence and ramp-up of services,” Lukasevich said. “We are going to do that in a safe and responsible manner to be considerate and ensure that we continue to adhere to CDC and the Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines.

“In every decision we make in regards to the furlough, it’s about the safety of employees and the residents that they might come in contact with. It’s about workload and the demand of work and of course, the financial situation and strength of the county.”

Ahner said that the county is still working to make sure as the county slowly reopens services to the public, it is prepared with hand sanitizing stations, Plexiglas barriers and other safety precautions.

“We want this step to make it because we’re preparing for the next step when we can be open,” he said.

Some public court hearings have already restarted in the courts, Greg Armstrong, court administrator, said, noting that more will be held in June.

In the monthly retirement board meeting, which met immediately after the commissioners meeting and includes the commissioners, the board also acted on two items to provide the furloughed employees with options to buy back their time so that when they retire, those lost days are included in the length of time they worked in the county.

The first motion approved was to allow furloughed employees to have 30 days upon their return to full-time hours to elect or decline buying back their time while furloughed.

The second motion that passed, but may be amended if furlough extensions are needed due to the pandemic, includes giving furloughed employees who return to full hours three options in buying back their time for retirement purposes.

These include paying the amount they owe to the retirement fund for those furloughed days in one lump sum payment; paying the amount owed through payroll deductions over a six-month period from the date of buyback election or a combination of a lump-sum payment and payroll deductions.

Mark Sverchek, county controller, said that this policy allows for employees to regain their days for retirement purposes, while also providing the county with some guidance based on the actuary’s recommendations, noting that it does not change the current policy the county has for military personnel who option buying back time when they are out.

Treasurer Ron Sheehan said this may need to be revisited later depending on how long the furloughs last.

Letters outlining the options available to those county employees who have been furloughed will be sent out with the furlough extension letters, the board said.