LAKEPORT – In the wake of a falling workload and dramatically reduced building permits, the county's Community Development Department is looking at not filling vacancies and possible future layoffs.

The Board of Supervisors heard an update on Community Development's budget situation at the Tuesday board meeting.

Earlier this year, in the midyear budget review, one staffer's job was cut effective April 1.

Since then, there has been discussion of eliminating two more positions in the Building and Safety Division, said county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox.

The decline in the construction industry is impacting the entire Community Development Department, said Cox. Building and Safety is a self-funded program that generates revenue from permits, said Cox.

Overall, permits are down by 17 percent in this fiscal year compared to the last, said Cox.

Permits are continuing to drop, he said.

In January, permits were down by 50 percent from January 2008, said Cox, and February isn't looking any better. “That's not a good sign at all.”

The result is that the county is using up half of Community Development's reserves to cover the gap between revenues and expenses, Cox said.

Looking ahead at the next fiscal year, Cox said it's estimated to cost $915,000 to run Community Development, with revenue only estimated to be $525,000.

If the county drew nearly $400,000 from the department's reserves to cover that imbalance, that would leave only about $100,000 in the reserves at the end of fiscal year 2009-10, said Cox.

To balance the budget at that point, Cox said they would have to eliminate three additional positions to balance the budget.

With permits down, the department's current workload doesn't require its current staffing level, said Cox.

Instead of layoffs, Cox said staff was suggesting not filling some open positions.

“We're going to be facing plenty of challenges in the general fund next year due to declining revenues,” Cox said.

He said serious consideration has been given to eliminating more positions, but he suggested deferring a final decision on those measures until August, when the county sits down to do its budget for the coming fiscal year. In the mean time, they're hoping that staff attrition will prevent layoffs.

The Code Enforcement Division, he added, also is being hurt by the reduction of permit revenue.

Cox said enhanced code enforcement in the county was funded several years ago through one-time funds, which will be nearly exhausted by the end of the current fiscal year. Positions in that division also may need to be cut, and he suggested not filling a deputy code manager slot.

He said he couldn't see the county being able to provide general fund money to keep the program running at an enhanced level. His written report noted that at its current level the Code Enforcement Division would accumulate a $200,000 shortfall by the end of next fiscal year. They county already had extended the program beyond its original deadline.

Supervisor Jeff Smith said they need to position themselves to take action. “I don't want to see us burn up reserves in one year that the next year then we'll have to make more drastic cuts.”

He agreed with making a decision in August.

Cox said he hopes to see the revenue situation improve and the economy turn around. “I don't think it's going to happen quite that fast.”

While he said they probably should make cuts now, Cox added, “I always want to avoid layoffs. It's an absolutely last resort.”

“We don't want to see anybody laid off,” said Smith.

Cox said counties and cities up and down the state are discussing massive layoffs. “We're not talking about any layoffs in the general fund.”

He said they can't justify spending money out of the general fund to support special programs if the workload isn't there. That's not the employees' fault, he added, and he wants to give employees every available opportunity to transfer into other positions.

Smith said they hadn't seen much code enforcement action in the last few months. “I want to see it back up again to finish off what we have with a bang.”

Cox said the division has been working on a lot of cases. Community Development Director Rick Coel added that he and Code Enforcement Manager Voris Brumfield will be bringing in some updates and ideas about the county zoning ordinance in order to make code enforcement more effective.

Supervisor Rob Brown was concerned that they may have to do something sooner than later. “As bad as things are with permits, they could get worse.”

In order to bridge the gap, Community Development is helping other departments with projects, an idea the board liked.

Board Chair Denise Rushing said the county spends a massive amount of money on consultants. She liked the idea of Community Development doing the work for the county for less money. “You've got some real talent in that organization.”

She suggested the department could help with a county energy committee. Coel said his department also has agreed to help Special Districts do a focused environmental impact report on a water project in Spring Valley.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington was concerned about having strong reserves. Cox cautioned that they have to be careful about compiling too much reserve money.

Covering shortfalls like those the county currently has is what reserves are for, said Rushing.

Smiths suggested this may be an opportunity to get projects done that have been on the back burner.

The board wasn't required to take action, and Cox promised to come back to them if more drastic measures are needed.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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