Gov. Linda Lingle's administration and the Hawaii Government Employees Association have agreed to roughly 18 furlough days this fiscal year and 24 furlough days next fiscal year for state workers, sources close to the negotiations said.

The furloughs would reduce the state's labor costs and ease an estimated deficit of about $1 billion through June 2011.

The proposed contract represents a compromise for both the Lingle administration and the state's largest public-sector labor union.

Lingle initially wanted 36 furlough days a year for both years and then offered 24 furlough days a year for both years. The union at first offered the equivalent of 12 furlough days a year for both years and then proposed 18 furlough days this year and 12 furlough days next year.

Lingle said yesterday that announcing the new contract has been delayed in part by the fact that no county mayors have signed off on the potential settlement.

Under state labor law, at least one of the four county mayors must sign off on the agreement, since it involves both state and county workers. The counties have already passed balanced budgets for this fiscal year without furloughs, so they would have to insert a section into the contract on how they will handle furloughs for county workers.

Three of the four mayors — Honolulu's Mufi Hannemann, the Big Island's Billy Kenoi and Maui's Charmaine Tavares — are traveling out of state, which could be a factor in the timing, since the mayors have been negotiating as a group. Contract changes also have to be worked through with the Hawai'i Health Systems Corp. and the state Judiciary.

Both Lingle administration officials and the union indicated yesterday that an agreement is possible this week. The agreement would then be subject to a ratification vote by union members.

KITV reported details of the potential settlement with the HGEA on Saturday.

The agreement with HGEA would follow a similar agreement approved last month by state teachers.

The state and the Hawaii State Teachers Association agreed to a new contract that includes 17 furlough days a year for teachers on 10-month schedules and 21 furlough days a year for teachers on year-round schedules. Lingle said yesterday that she hopes teachers will reconsider taking the furlough days away from classroom instruction.

The University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly is voting this week on a contract offer from the university that includes a 5 percent pay cut.

Lingle said she hopes the state Legislature looks at the collective bargaining process next session. The governor said the state and the counties do not share identical interests and have different workforce compositions.

Most of the HGEA workers covered by the potential settlement work for the state, yet, under state labor law, the counties have a voice in the process. The law also gives the governor a say over county police and firefighter contracts even though most police officers and firefighters work for the counties.

"We've learned the hard way about the complications and the impact those complications can have," Lingle said. "Not being able to move forward right now because the mayors aren't in sync with us is causing us to take much longer than it needs to be.

"We should have had this finished by now, but it's just the way the law is written."

Bill Brennan, a spokesman for Hannemann, who is in Japan, said the mayors are "not quite there" on contract language. "The mayors are continuing to work on contract language and issues that involve the counties," he said.

Lingle said the state is not close to reaching a deal with the blue-collar United Public Workers. The state and the UPW's public safety unit are in binding arbitration.

Meanwhile, a status conference scheduled for yesterday at the Hawai'i Labor Relations Board on the Lingle administration's layoff procedures was postponed. The board has ordered the administration to consult with the HGEA on layoffs, such as disclosing the criteria used to select the 1,100 state workers targeted.

Lingle said last week that the initial round of layoffs in November would save the state $25 million. A second round of layoffs is also possible, she has said.