The Eleventh Hour

In keeping with our great state's motto, this post is a little late, slightly later than the eleventh hour, which is when our bill fixing the budget issue for court reporters was passed.  Last Thursday, the last day the Senate and House would be in session until mid-April, mid-afternoon our bill was passed - barely, I might add with a vote of 32-26.  We were assured it would pass by those in the know...and I'm told that by the time it gets to a vote, there are no surprises.  Such was the case for us.

Thankfully, all the layoff notices and furlough orders were rescinded.  Everyone gets to stay fully staffed...at least until July.

It just so happens that our annual seminar was on Friday.  I dreaded it all week because if the bill did not pass, it would have been VERY unpleasant.  Turns out, it was the exact opposite.  Everyone was in good spirits, the sessions were very informative and it was actually one of the best seminars I have been to in 18 years.  It would have been a totally different story had the bill not passed.  No one would've been able to focus on anything other than the gloom and doom.

The gal over court reporting services in Springfield filled us in on how everything unfolded and told us that we will be fine through the end of this fiscal year.  They were told to make a 10% cut on their request for the next fiscal year, but she said they will most likely ask for the same amount they asked for last year, and have no reason to believe they won't get.  Even if our budget is slightly reduced, it should not require layoff's or extended furloughs.  The most likely scenario for a cut would be not rehiring for every new retirement position.  That is doable.  Most people can get by here and there with one less reporter for a while, if they had to.  And no one loses their job.

When I searched the phrase, "eleventh hour" I was somewhat surprised that its etymology comes from the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard told in Matthew 20.  It relates to the workers hired at the end of the day.  Makes sense.  They received the same pay the workers hired in the morning received.   I especially like the last verse, "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."  Maybe the House and Senate were just saving the best for last...ha!

This crisis created a lot of stress and anxiety on many, and caused quite the uproar in each circuit as they tried to implement some sort of plan that would be feasible for continuing the court process and stretch the budget out.  Maybe it was a good drill for us all, maybe some of us needed the wake-up call.  I know I was thinking about every purchase and future purchase I wanted to make.

Although I was looking forward to a month of part-time employment, I am relieved that no one is losing their job or insurance.  I'll just look ahead to my vacation time this summer (and get paid for it).