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Anticipating a $6 million revenue shortfall next fiscal year, Douglas County's top officials are sharpening their budget knives.
Department heads and elected officials have been asked to submit budget requests that are at least 4 percent below current levels and, if possible, eliminate vacant positions.
The directives came in a letter sent earlier this week by County Board members Mary Ann Borgeson and Kyle Hutchings.
Layoffs also are a possibility, Hutchings said.
“It's very possible,” he said. “To what extent is hard to say.”
A wage freeze and job furloughs are options, too, but would most likely require negotiations with the county's many different unions, Hutchings said.
The county's fiscal year doesn't begin until July 1, but officials already are worried because of anticipated increases in health care costs and uncertainty about what will happen to real estate valuations.
In addition, revenue from motor vehicle fees, investment interest and inheritance taxes was trailing last year's figures, according to the letter.
“They were told that this upcoming year was not going to be pretty,” said Steve Walker, the county's finance director. This is the first time he recalls asking directors for budget reductions of this size.
As an example, the Department of Corrections has a budget of $30.8 million. A 4 percent cut would represent about $1.2 million.
For the current fiscal year, the county tapped $5 million from reserve funds to help balance the budget. Department heads also were asked to keep spending at or below levels established in previous years.
Contact the writer:
444-3198, chip.olsen@owh.com
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