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| Kitsap County Offices to Close Fridays |
| By Steven Gardner |
| Published: 04/16/2009 |
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The county administration building will be closed on Fridays beginning in May and no Kitsap County sheriff's deputies will be laid off, for now, after a tentative agreement was reached on cuts to the county's 2009 budget. Kitsap County commissioners agreed on most details for trimming about $3.3 million from the county's $72.29 million spending plan. Closing the administration building basically means that all county offices that aren't involved with law and justice functions will be closed on Fridays. One issue left unsolved was whether to eliminate district court offices in Poulsbo. During a meeting Wednesday morning, Administrative Services Director Shawn Gabriel presented a plan that would cut 6.12 percent from the budget of every county department except the Sheriff's Office, which would be cut 4.12 percent. The county's revenues were $1.56 million lower than expected in the first quarter of 2009. Spending was down $1.04 million, leaving a $520,000 difference. That deficit comes despite a hiring freeze and other steps county commissioners took late last year to balance the budget. Retail sales tax revenues are expected to be down about $2 million for the rest of the year, despite a $160,000 uptick in March. Gabriel said the one-month increase was likely due to construction purchases related to the Hood Canal bridge project. That same project could cause a downturn beginning in May, when the bridge begins a six-week closure. Many of the 2009 cuts will come from reductions in work hours by county employees and closing the county administration building on Fridays beginning in May. Some employees will work four nine-hour days when the closures begin. "You hate to cut peoples' paychecks by 10 percent in tough times," said Jim Avery, county assessor. "But you hate to lose people, too." The plan does not require the Sheriff's Office to lay off any deputies. In fact, if the county wins grant money that it is counting on, the Sheriff's Office could end up adding deputies, at least in the short term. Kitsap County Undersheriff Dennis Bonneville said the county hopes to fill seven positions, two of which are vacant. The grants are from the state and federal governments. Some are from federal economic stimulus money. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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