Escambia County Looks To Cut Jobs, Reduce Expenses

March 5, 2008

With the passage of Amendment 1, Escambia County is facing a budget shortfall of about $12 million beginning with the new fiscal year that starts October 1. The county commission will hold a workshop Wednesday to address where those cuts will happen, with the primary focus being on possible job and salary cuts.

In addition to the $12 million shortfall, Director of Administrative Services Jean Kassab says in a county memo that the county is facing a $1 million subsidy requirement for the county’s emergency medical services department, another $1 million needed next year to keep ECAT’s public transportation afloat and a loss estimated at $900,000 in sales tax revenue due to a declining economy.

“To that end preliminary guidance has been given to all departments that included the elimination of primarily vacant positions, the movement of filled positions from one program to another and/or general reductions in programmatic expenses. This step, if effective, will result in the elimination of about 23 positions and the movement of an additional 4 positions to non-General Fund programs,” Kassab’s memo to commissioners says.

“The next step is to further reduce payroll through early retirement buyouts and program consolidation. If further steps are necessary after these, programs at the bottom of the prioritization list will be reduced or eliminated. If these reductions/eliminations are not sufficient, then global reductions such as pay decreases or cost shifting of benefits will be needed,” the memo continues.

An early retirement plan will also be considered. The plan will provide a financial incentive to take an early retirement for employees that are at least 50 years old or have at least 30 years of qualified service (25 years for high risk employees).

At today’s commission workshop, commissioners will also look at prioritizing funding among county departments, looking for possible ways to cut dollars from the budget.

NorthEscambia.com will have coverage of today’s meeting posted Thursday morning.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Archive