Fairfax County Executive Anthony Griffin has ordered agencies to double the cuts they made this year to accommodate more dismal revenue forecasts, according to a memo obtained by The Examiner.
The additional 2 percent reduction in personnel costs accelerates belt-tightening measures that officials had thought wouldn’t be needed until July, the beginning of fiscal 2009, according to the internal memo sent Nov. 29 to senior county managers.
Griffin had mandated the first 2 percent cuts earlier this year due to declining real estate revenue from the sputtering housing market, which was expected to leave a $120 million shortfall next fiscal year.
But the new data show revenue for the current fiscal year will be $10 million less than anticipated and $25 million less than forecast for 2009, the county executive wrote.
While Deputy County Executive Ed Long said he didn’t anticipate layoffs, it’s clear the new cuts will further squeeze departments that are still struggling to handle the first round.
The severe budget picture already had prevented any serious program expansions and left vacant positions unfilled.
The police department, which stretches about 1,400 officers over a county of more than 1 million people, slashed 28,000 hours of overtime in November, according to county documents.
“The proposed cuts are definitely going to affect our ability to serve citizens and to investigate crime,” said Marshall Thielen, president of the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the county’s police union.
The $10 million revenue reduction this year stems largely from minimal growth in sales tax and less-than-anticipated returns on investments, Long said.
Hastening the additional 2 percent worth of cuts will allow the county to carry over more funds to attack next year’s shortfall, he said. Personnel costs, including salary and benefits, generally make up about two-thirds of an agency’s budget.
“We’re just trying to get agencies to start preparing for that, because we know we got a gap that we have to address as part of the 2009 budget,” Long said.
Griffin, in his memo, wrote he believed the cuts “can be managed without significant customer service impacts.”
Department heads who think the cuts will have major implications, however, were asked to notify the county executive.
