More County Budget Blues
$18.8 Million Deficit Projected, Even with 10 Percent Cuts
Even if the Board of Supervisors adopts a budget this summer for fiscal year 2009-2010 with cuts of 10 percent across the board, officials anticipate a projected gap of roughly $18.8 million for the following fiscal year. If the board should choose 10 percent cuts, county departments could have to eliminate the equivalent of almost 200 full-time positions for the next fiscal year, the biggest hit coming in the Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Bill Brown, who severely cut his department for the current fiscal year, is anticipating a “devastating” impact and increased crime should he have to make such extreme cuts. Many other departments are also pleading their cases to the board to avoid a budget bloodbath as the budget approaches.
