EL PASO, Texas -- KFOX has told you about El Paso County employees taking furlough days, but KFOX found out on Monday those furloughs don't apply to everyone.

If someone is an elected official, which the county human resources director told KFOX includes more than 35 people pulling county salaries, they don't have to take any furloughs. If a portion of a county employee's salary comes from somewhere else, like the state, they also don't have to take a furlough. And employees under a collective bargaining agreement, like sheriff's deputies and detention officers, are also exempt.

So to even the playing field, on Monday El Paso County Commissioners opened up the opportunity for those employees to voluntarily donate their wages on furlough days.

"It's only right that if we, the governing body of the county, that if we're asking our employees to furlough days, that we ourselves take that hit," said Commissioner Willie Gandara.

"I think it's very important to show that everybody is in it together," said Commissioner Veronica Escobar.

Escobar said it is a morale booster when morale is low in the county, and human resources officials have heard complaints from county employees.

"We have heard from some of our employees that they don't think it's right that they're having to furlough, and that the elected officials are not necessarily taking the same furlough days," said Betsy Keller, director of El Paso County Human Resources Department.

For the 35-plus elected officials, county commissioners said they will post online who voluntarily takes a furlough, and who does not, for everyone to see.

"I think that's good. Everything about us is public," Escobar told KFOX.

The voluntary furloughs are for the remaining two furlough days this year. If elected officials want to forgo their wages for the two previous furlough days, they have to write a check to the county or make special arrangements with human resources.