PORT ANGELES — All but six Clallam County elected officials and department heads will take a 6.25 percent pay cut next year to match the shortened work week that hourly employees are facing.
The only elected officials not affected by the proposed pay cut are Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly, District Court Judges Rick Porter and Erik Rohrer, and Superior Court Judges Ken Williams, George L. Wood and S. Brooke Taylor.
The five judges and prosecuting attorney are exempt from county cuts because their salaries are set by the state Legislature, county Administrator Jim Jones said.
Hourly exemptions
The only hourly employees who will not have a 37.5-hour work week in 2012 are patrol sergeants and deputies, Corrections sergeants and deputies, and juvenile Corrections officers.
Law and justice departments have proposed a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax in order to maintain adequate 24-hour public safety service.
County commissioners reached a consensus earlier this month to reduce the hours of the 164 employees who are still on a 40-hour work week to 37.5 hours, though no formal budget decisions have been made.
Jones and the commissioners volunteered to take a 10 percent pay cut, which amounts to $15,654 per year in Jones’ case and about $8,000 for the commissioners.
The county has handed out 15 pink slips and consolidated other positions to avoid using reserves.
In 2012, Clallam County will have the equivalent of 362.6 full-time employees compared with the 390.7 it has now.
The employees who were given layoff notices will work through the end of November.
Shortfall remains
Despite the cuts to county government, Jones’ budget still has a $627,000 shortfall in a $30.4 million general fund.
“It’s been the most difficult and complex budget preparation I’ve ever done,” said Jones, who has prepared six budgets for the county, 10 for the Port Angeles School District and 12 for First Federal.
“We don’t have the revenue to continue paying for things we’ve always been doing.”
Most of what the county does is mandated.
It provides 24/7 law enforcement coverage, multiple courts and a 120-bed jail. It also collects taxes, determines property values, supervises elections and builds and maintains roads and bridges.
This year, the county will take $27.7 million out of the economy through its taxes, fees and permits.
On the flip side, the county is putting $58.4 million back into the economy through hired contractors, capital improvements and salaries.
That’s a net gain of $30.7 million for the economy in 2011, Jones said.
A balanced recommended budget that Jones presented Oct. 4 included 30 layoffs to cover a $2.4 million shortfall.
In the days that followed, each department brought forth its own recommendations for alternative cuts or new revenue in one-on-one meetings with the commissioners and Jones.
Tax proposed
In order to continue to provide mandated law and justice services, Sheriff Bill Benedict, Kelly and Judges Wood, Williams, Taylor and Porter proposed a juvenile correctional facilities tax for the February ballot.
The penny-per-$10-purchase sales tax would raise about $950,000 per year, Jones said.
In a three-page letter, the elected law and justice officials said revenue from the tax “may be used to meet services mandated” to them.
That revenue would be added to the $848,254 in cuts and new revenue that the law and justice departments identified.
County commissioners have not approved putting a sales tax on the ballot.
Nothing about the budget is final until the commissioners adopt one Dec. 13.
Roads department
County Engineer Ross Tyler said he will deliver a “state of road department” message at the commissioners’ work session Nov. 7.
“It’s going to be pretty shocking,” he said.
Although he would not divulge the details of his new proposal, Tyler said “it’s going to be difficult” for his already-stretched staff to absorb more cuts.
Adding to the consternation in the halls of county government is union “bumping,” in which union-represented employees with seniority can bump a worker from another department out of a job.
While nobody is happy over the cuts, Jones said, a “great majority” of county officials understand why they have to be made.
As a result of the shortened work week, Clallam County Courthouse hours will likely be reduced by a half-hour in 2012, Jones said.
Rather than being open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the courthouse would be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Public hearings will be held on the budget Dec. 6.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
