CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The director of the Nevada Department
of Corrections has asked for another month to find ways to give
guards and other staff members a furlough mandated by the state
Legislature.

Lawmakers ordered state employees to take one day off each month
without pay - the equivalent of a 4.6 percent pay cut - starting
July 1.

The furloughs will save the state an estimated $333 million.

But Corrections Department Director Howard Skolnik is asking for extra time to schedule the furloughs so public safety isn't jeopardized. He says Nevada prisons are already understaffed.

Among possible solutions he is considering are shutting down parts of prisons and moving inmates to a smaller area that can be supervised by fewer guards and a rolling lockdown that would keep inmates locked in their cells for longer periods.