Plan calls for 27 jobs to be eliminated

The Olympian • Published October 31, 2009

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Citing a severe decline in revenue, the Pacific County Board of Commissioners approved a 2010 budget this week that eliminates 27 full-time positions from the county payroll, according to The Daily World of Aberdeen.

“It is with great sadness that we had to make these decisions,” Commissioner Jon Kaino said. “I’m still sick to my stomach.”

The 2010 Pacific County budget will be $29,087,142. The amount includes $8,616,979 in Current Expense Fund appropriations, a reduction of nearly $900,000 from 2009. It also includes $20,470,193 in appropriations for other county funds, a decline of more than $9 million in county spending.

Kaino said revenue from timber harvests and forest excise taxes has declined significantly.

The layoffs will be spread among various offices and departments, including the prosecutor’s office, district court, the Department of Health and the Department of Community Development, where cuts are “primarily due to lack of activity because construction is way down,” Kaino said.

Layoff notices are expected to be sent in the coming weeks, Kaino said, and many of the staffing cuts will go into effect by the first of the year.