51黑料

In a letter to the council, Page said the $14 million in cuts could also force the county to scale back on a program to maintain and demolish dilapidated properties. The elimination of public works staff could affect services such as snow plowing and street repair. And the revenue department might have to stop mailing out tax bills, a service that costs more than $577,000 annually. Residents would have to find their bills online or request them by phone.

鈥淭hese funding cuts will have long-reaching implications, reducing vital services that our residents have come to expect,鈥� he wrote.

County Council members proposed the cuts Tuesday after months of private 鈥� and fruitless 鈥� budget talks between county officials, meant to address the county鈥檚 $27 million projected budget deficit. The cuts, which amount to about 2% of the overall budget, could help stem spending that is 鈥渆roding our financial reserves,鈥� said Chair Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from unincorporated North County.

The cuts ranged from a $105,000 cut to the public administrator鈥檚 office to a $8.2 million reduction to the county health department.

But on Friday Republican Councilman Dennis Hancock stood firm, and pushed for fiscal caution.

鈥淭he county executive鈥檚 focus is on raising taxes, and our focus is on reducing expenditures, but doing it in a way that will lead us to a point where we鈥檙e actually living within our means,鈥� Hancock said.

In his letter, Page outlines how each of the cuts would impact departments.

A $2.1 million cut to public works affects road work, including clearing snow, and it would also reduce the county鈥檚 ability to clear dumping in vacant lots and to maintain abandoned homes. A $570,000 cut to the County Counselor鈥檚 office would mean a smaller team to work on legal issues surrounding those problem properties, and a $905,000 cut in the revenue department means eliminating employees who work on vacant properties.

A roughly $698,000 cut to the county executive office鈥檚 budget means it would have to halt work on federal pandemic relief spending. Eight nonprofits are still waiting for their funding to come through as the county works through a complicated compliance process. Page鈥檚 office would put that work on hold until it can afford more staff.

The little-known public administrator鈥檚 office handles the affairs of some of society鈥檚 most neglected people. The council鈥檚 proposed 10% or $105,000 cut would force it to take fewer cases and serve fewer people, said Public Administrator Timothy Weaks.

If a severely mentally ill child with no guardian 鈥渁ges out鈥� of state custody, it鈥檚 the administrator鈥檚 job to find them a home. If an elderly man abandoned by his family needs around-the-clock care, the administrator finds him a place to go and liquidates his belongings to help pay for his care.

鈥淲e鈥檙e charged with making sure these folks don鈥檛 end up homeless,鈥� Weaks said.

Even if the county can鈥檛 take on new cases, state law still requires it to provide services to those in need. That could mean spending even more to hire outside attorneys, Weaks said.

The council considered what departments actually spend in a year when deciding what the cuts would be, said the council鈥檚 budget policy coordinator, Chris Grahn-Howard. Departments sometimes spend less than their budget.

But that鈥檚 not the case with the public administrator. The office鈥檚 budget for this year was $770,342 after the council cut two vacancies last November. The council ended up increasing the office鈥檚 budget to about $1 million in January to restore those positions, Weaks said.

In the public health department, an $8.2 million cut would impact services, the county executive wrote in his letter to the council. And in the county administration department, a $1.6 million cut could affect cybersecurity initiatives.

Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said his staff would continue to do their work despite a $772,000 cut to his office.

鈥淭he men and women of the 51黑料 County Prosecuting Attorney鈥檚 Office will continue doing our job and working with our partners for a safer 51黑料 region,鈥� Bell said in an emailed statement.

Some parks projects may have to be delayed because of an $800,000 proposed cut. A new playground at Castle Point Park, a new bathroom at Lydia D. Buder Park and a new playground parking lot at Suson Park would all be put on hold, among other projects.

The council must approve a budget by the end of the year. If it doesn鈥檛, the county will revert to stopgap spending until a new budget passes.

There are only two scheduled council meetings left in the year. The council could approve the cuts as soon as Tuesday.