BY SUSAN DICKSON
Staff Writer
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to eliminate 21 vacant county positions, warning of more potential staff reductions to occur in coming months.
“The reality is that if a lot of people don’t take the retirement program we’re offering now, we’re looking at some forced … reductions,†County Manager Frank Clifton said. “Tonight begins the first step in that process.â€
County officials are anticipating major budget shortfalls this year as commissioners have requested a budget that includes no property-tax increase and sales-tax revenue is down across the state. Recent budget projections include a $13.4 million differential between county department requests and estimated revenues.
According to Clifton, the county will likely reduce staffing from 908 to about 825 positions, for approximately $5 million in savings. The county offered early retirement incentives to certain staff members last year and has extended that offer to about 110 more this year.
“It’s going to be a fairly dramatic reduction in staff positions,†he said. “If a bunch of those people qualify and take those incentives, we can reevaluate that.â€
County human resources director Michael McGinnis said the county has developed a list of other vacant positions that could be eliminated as well.
As the county eliminates and reorganizes positions across departments, officials plan to create an internal labor pool, with any jobs that come open in the next few months to be only available to current staff members. Clifton said the county plans to let departments know of likely positions to be eliminated.
Of vacant positions, only those that are part of core operations will be spared from scrutiny, Clifton said.
“We’re making sure that everything we do works the way we think it will and that we avoid as much direct impact on services as we can,†he said. “I can tell you it’s a lot easier to deal with vacant positions than to look people in the eye and tell them they’re not going to have a job in six months.â€
The eliminated positions, which will provide about $450,000 in savings this fiscal year and nearly $1.3 million in savings for fiscal year 2010-11, span various county departments, including public works, county commissioners, the visitors bureau, human resources, the health department, parks and recreation, the register of deeds, planning and inspections, aging and Orange County public transportation, the sheriff’s office, solid-waste management and tax administration.
“Eventually, it will fall back to the public because they’ll see delays or a lack of response,†Clifton said.
The commissioners will hold a budget work session tonight (Thursday) at 7 at the Link Government Services Center, 200 S. Cameron St., Hillsborough.