MIAMI -- The paychecks of thousands of Miami-Dade County employees will be smaller starting Monday, and the county's police director has resigned amid the pay cuts.

The 5 percent salary reduction applies for all county workers who are not members of unions, which includes about 2,700 people.

The county said the cuts will save $34 million. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said he is still negotiating with the unions in the hope that they would make concessions in order to help the county with its budget crisis.

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Robert Parker announced Friday that he would be stepping down as of Sunday because of the cuts. Parker was with the department for 34 years and served as its director for five.

Because he was a department head, Parker would have been subject to the 5 percent pay cut, which would have affected his accrued sick and vacation time. Parker said he would have lost thousands of dollars in retirement money had he stayed until Monday.

The police department's assistant director, James Loftus, will serve as interim director until an appointment is made.