ANDERSON, Ind. — City employees will get 14 paid holidays and two paid personal days in 2010, a policy that Board of Public Works member Mark Lamey said has been agreed upon through union contracts with the city.

Employees get 16 total days each year, according to the contracts, but whether there are 12 or 14 holidays depends on whether it is an election year. Personal days make up the difference to total 16.

“The Board of Works actually has the responsibility to put (the holiday schedule) out, but we base it on past experience and union contracts,” Lamey said.

Mayor Kris Ockomon said he doubted the six unions that represent some city employees would agree to changing the holiday schedule.

“I think with them agreeing to do pay freezes and pay reductions, I don’t think they would,” he said.

This year, city officials have been in talks with the union to ask for them to approve the wage freezes and other measures that would save the city money as its property tax levy falls.

Ockomon said city officials did not ask the union specifically for a reduction in the number of paid holidays but that they did ask the union for any concessions they would make.

Lamey said he didn’t know what it would take to change the holiday schedule but that it was worth considering.

“I personally would agree to that, but really because of the contracts, it would be hard to do it,” he said. “It wouldn’t be an impossible situation. We’d have to sit down with all the powers that be in the unions and work it out.”

Ockomon said reducing the number of paid holidays for city employees would help the city’s finances a little, but not much.

“It may be something else that we address toward the end of the year,” he said.

City officials will continue making budget cuts through the end of the year to try and reach a balanced 2009 and 2010 budget.

Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com.