Recordpub.com - Sheriff facing $950,000 in cuts: Union furloughs considered to trim Portage budget

By Dave O’Brien

Record-Courier staff writer

Portage County commissioners and Sheriff David Doak continued Monday to look for ways to cut $950,000 from his proposed 2010 budget.

The $950,000 figure is the difference between Doak’s current budget request of $12,383,919 and the 2009 sheriff’s office budget of $11,433,012. Commissioners have said they want to avoid layoffs in the department but said Monday they may resort to furloughs to try and make up the difference.

One potential funding formula floated by Commissioner Chris Smeiles could help reach a goal of no layoffs, though it involves unpaid furloughs for union members.

Leaving several open jail and road deputy positions vacant plus cutting funding from several grants, could save nearly $400,000. Assume a savings of $500,000 in job furloughs, and the department is close to the $900,000 in savings needed, Smeiles said.

“There’s almost $1 million in cuts without any layoffs,” he said.

Commissioner Maureen Frederick said no layoffs is something she wants to guarantee to the unions representing sheriff’s office employees. Attorney Ronald Habowski, who is advising Doak on his budget and legal issues, said union representatives have asked for a written proposal of concessions and offerings should it come to that.

But “(they’ve) not volunteered anything and I’ve not offered anything,” he said.

Some courthouse security grant money also could be used to retain current employees rather than hire new ones, said Daniel Banks, county grants administrator.

“We asked them for more money than we were given, so we were held to a standard of creating two jobs rather than three,” he said, adding that officials in Columbus “have given me the indication they’ll accept us retaining positions with the money rather than creating new ones.”

Local tax collection is down $600,000 this year, according to the most recent numbers provided to commissioners. The county lost $500,000 in state-provided local government funds, as well.

Doak’s uniform budget drops in 2010, the county has a grant to purchase new cruisers for deputies and jail inmate medical costs and contractual service budgets have fallen, commissioners said. They also suggested Doak might save money by using the county’s bulk buying power for items such as cleaning supplies for the jail.

Habowski said he was not convinced commissioners could balance Doak’s budget without layoffs.

“In my heart of hearts, I believe you had a hard job five years ago,” he told Commissioner Chuck Keiper. “I think you have an impossible job right now.”

Keiper said he was still hopeful that commissioners could figure out the situation without handing out pink slips.

“I’m hoping by the end of day Wednesday we’ll be closing in on something that resembles” a balanced budget, he said.