The continuing decline of Island County revenue again challenges county leaders, who cut $4 million from their budgets in 2009 and now must face an additional projected shortfall of $1.2 million in 2010.

The loss of that first $4 million severely disabled all county departments and programs, with law and justice taking the smallest hits.

During a Tuesday, Nov. 17, workshop, the Board of County Commissioners suggested 4% and 4.5% cuts in all county departments in 2010, except those that have already been severely cut, such as the human resources department, now staffed only by a full-time director and part time office assistant. Other departments, such as the budget director and coroner, are in the same boat. Cutting any more means shutting them down completely.

Commissioners reluctantly suggested even bigger cuts – 10% -- in social programs such as senior services, rather than shut them down completely, because commissioners feel it is as essential to protect the safety net they provide to vulnerable, older adults who live at home alone, for example. Cutting these life-line social programs altogether, thereby potentially losing leverage for state and federal funding for senior programs, would be inhumane, as well as, from a practical standpoint, put additional strain on sheriff deputies. Other social programs, such as mental health, receive only a small portion of the current expense fund and are, instead, funded by a one-tenth of one percent sales tax, which cannot be diverted to other uses.

One very important, but technically “non essential” or mandated, program being cut is the Impaired Driving Impact Panel of Island County, which received only $3,600 this year to help instill in teens and adults the serious dangers of drinking and driving. Such is the severity of this ongoing depression of Island County government. Even so – and here is one of several bright, untold courthouse stories that have been going on behind the scenes – several elected officials, including Sheriff Mark Brown and Prosecutor Greg Banks, have offered to donate the difference.

Meanwhile, the Board of County Commissioners will likely dip into the county’s fund balance to offset $200,000 of the shortfall during this financial emergency, the board will divert $100,000 from road funds to the sheriff’s office for traffic safety, and commissioners will increase tax levies by the allowed 1% to help ease the need to dismantle government.

Looking back at what will soon be a total of $5.2 million worth of cuts over two years, the county has protected public safety and law enforcement, which, to this point, was cut the least. A 4.5% cut in the sheriff’s department need not mean any erosion of islanders’ safety and deputies’ current response times, and we have full confidence our dedicated and determined sheriff will find a way to avoid layoffs of patrol deputies, helping to hold his department and this county together as we go through these difficult times together.