SLO County supervisors may cut 27 jobs due to coronavirus budget losses
San Luis Obispo County leaders may cut dozens of local government jobs as they work to eliminate more than $26 million from the budget due to coronavirus revenue losses.
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider cutting 27 county positions, 25 of which are currently vacant, according to a county news release.
Two current employees may be laid off due to the cuts — a department automation specialist in the Planning and Building Department and a legal clerk in the County Counsel’s Office, said Guy Savage, assistant county administrative officer.
“This is a very difficult decision,” Wade Horton, county administrative officer, said in a statement. “Just like any local employer, we rely on our employees to provide quality services and the last thing we want to do is cut positions. We care about employees and want to continue providing important public services to the people of SLO County when they need our help the most.”
Unfilled positions that could be cut include assessment technicians, a deputy district attorney, a sheriff’s deputy, a correctional deputy, a behavioral health clinician and a social worker, according to a county staff report.
Coronavirus revenue shortages have resulted in a county budget shortfall of $32 million to $56 million. Supervisors in June voted to approve a plan to reduce the budget by $26.2 million and took first steps to cut $19.3 million.
The initial reductions will include $6.5 million in departmental cuts and $12.8 million in reserve funds, the release said. Another $6.9 million in savings will come from employees who voluntarily opt to take unpaid time off or cut their hours.
All non-public safety departments must make 4% cuts. The county’s four public safety departments — the Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, County Fire, Probation Department and the District Attorney’s Office — must make 1% cuts.
County department leaders focused on cutting “things that would not directly impact services to the public,” such as equipment, training and office supplies, the release said. Leaders then considered vacant positions and tried to avoid layoffs.
Supervisors may need to approve more reductions in the future, depending on what the county’s budget looks like in the coming months, Horton told The Tribune.
“Additional cuts may be necessary but depend on what happens to our revenues over the course of the year, particularly impacts to state and federal funding,” Horton wrote in an email. “Fortunately, we anticipate receiving about $29 million in CARES Act funding. We believe these funds will significantly mitigate any additional cuts.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
