Salt Lake County trims another $17.4 million from budget

Fiscal downsizing continues as the foremost task for Salt Lake County officials, who approved a plan Tuesday to cut spending an additional $17.4 million this year — a move they say was accomplished without sacrificing services to county residents.

The cuts come on the heels of an annual budget slashing that trimmed $12 million from 2008's operating funds. The cuts are likely just the first steps in what will be ongoing efforts to cope with declining revenues.

Mayor Peter Corroon outlined the adjustments Tuesday that include the elimination of more than 90 county jobs — most of which are currently vacant as a result of a hiring freeze instigated last November.

Corroon said a handful of occupied jobs will be eliminated, though those forced reductions will come at the behest of department or division leaders, not as a mandate from his office.

"There will be no layoffs based on budgetary requirements, though some elected officials or department heads may choose to reduce their workforce based on efficiencies that they're creating," he said.

Members of the County Council, who approved the plan Tuesday, lauded Corroon and county agency leaders for finding efficiencies without having to put people out on the street. Councilman Jim Bradley noted the direct connection between county employees and serving the needs of the public.

"The philosophy that we want to avoid (reductions in force) at all costs is fundamental," Bradley said. "The vast majority of our services are delivered through division personnel, so a cut in people is really cutting the critical services to the community."

Corroon's chief administrative officer, Doug Willmore, said the mayor's decision to freeze hiring late last year made the current cuts much less painful.

"This all could have been done last November, but it would have required (reductions in force)," Willmore said. "(It) would have required firing people."

Not all departments found relief through the attrition process, however, and $850,000 in funding "backfill" was distributed to the assessor's office and sheriff's department.

Willmore said the fact that the cuts could be accomplished without a reduction in services was not necessarily a sign of a bloated initial budget, but a measure of continuing efforts to streamline operations and finding new ways to do things.

Though the decisions made last fall may have made the reductions less painful, they were not painless. Six positions currently occupied will be eliminated — and more cuts are just around the corner.

Council Chairman Joe Hatch said municipal services, libraries and sanitation would be appearing before the council in a two weeks, and the council would likely be asking for budget trimming by those agencies.

E-MAIL: araymond@desnews.com