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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
June 23, 2007
Contact: Clarence Moriwaki
Phone: (360) 337-4481
No. 07-55
Kitsap County cuts $1,060,000 from general fund budget
PORT
ORCHARD, WA— To help soften the projected budget shortfall of
more than $3 million, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners today
unanimously passed a resolution cutting $1,060,000 from the general fund.
“Cutting more than $1 million from the general fund budget shows that we’re
serious about taking every step possible to be fiscally responsible,” Kitsap
County Commission Board Chair Josh Brown said. “Leadership rings hollow if
we don’t set by example, and that’s why the Board of Commissioners chose to
cut $416,000 from our own budget.”
The more than $1 million in savings was made possible by the following
budget cuts:
$400,000 savings from reducing the Board of Commissioners one-time only
expenditure budget
$410,000 savings from not purchasing computer equipment
$152,000 savings from annual and sick leave cash-outs
$30,000 savings from not hiring extra help for the Prosecutor’s Office
$20,000 savings from not hiring extra help for the Parks and Recreation
Department
$20,000 savings from not hiring extra help for General Administration and
Operations
$16,000 savings from not hiring extra help for the Commissioners Office
$7,000 savings from not hiring extra help for the Purchasing Department
$5,000 savings from not hiring extra help from the Clerk’s Office
Brown warns that even with these and other cuts, the looming budget
shortfall still poses a serious challenge to the county’s policy of
maintaining a sufficient cash balance to meet basic payroll and bill paying
requirements. Brown says the county’s hiring freeze and other cost savings
measures will help close the budget gap, but like with every sector of the
economy, Kitsap County has seen the cost of doing business rise faster than
the rate of revenues.
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