Clerk's office crushed by buyout plan

TERRE HAUTE, Ind (WTHI) - Twenty Vigo County employees will be out of a job come Friday.

The Vigo County Council approved a buyout plan Tuesday night that was offered to all 500 county employees. Of the 500, 42 applied for the buyout and only 20 were eligible.

One of the departments that got hit the hardest was the Clerk’s office. Vigo County’s Clerk Pat Mansard lost six people from her staff.

"We are really stressed over this because I had no input into this planning," Mansard said.

Kathy Flowers works for the Clerk’s office. She is a jack of all trades and fills in any office where needed. She took the buyout option because she is pregnant and sees this plan as an opportunity to get paid for maternity leave.

"They are already so short staffed and understaffed and lost people. I can't imagine how they are going to deal with this to be honest," Flowers said.

Flowers also helps out around election time.

"I am really really concerned about leaving. I don’t know how they are going to deal with losing election workers," Flowers said.

Kathy is not alone, for 13 years Judy Roberts has showed up at the courthouse for work.

"It probably won't sink in until Monday, when I don't get up to come to work," Roberts said.

Roberts is scrambling to take care of as much paper work as possible before the end of the week.

"I am trying to make a list of what I do and make a notebook of it so it will help. It would have helped greatly if someone could have sat with me for a couple days but by being this quick you are not able to do that," Roberts said.

For now on, business at the courthouse could be different.

"You may not be able to get what you need, when you need, you may have to wait in line," Mansard said.

It is a line that might start growing after this Friday.

Since 2008, the Clerk's office will have lost of total of 12 people and had their budget cut by 22.5%.