VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) -
The Vanderburgh County Council has asked all departments to trim back their 2013 budgets by around 5%.
It's a challenge for many, but in particular, the county highway department where a major deficit could impact jobs.
At the county highway department, they could be looking at some pretty significant cuts.
The county council president is even going so far as saying they'd need to take a sharp scalpel to next year's budget.
"We will do the best we can with what we have," said Mike Duckworth, the Superintendent of the Vanderburgh County Highway Department.
That's likely the mantra of many Vanderburgh County department heads as they await approval of their 2013 budgets.
But, most aren't dealing with a projected $1.4 million deficit like the county highway department.
"I mean we're talking about a 20% reduction in cost here in order to meet a balanced budget here," said Tom Shetler, the county council president.
Shetler says that more than a million dollar shortfall isn't all that unusual.
The problem is back-up funds they've relied on in the past are drying up.
"Those reserves are thin, very thin," Shetler.
Unlike most county departments, Duckworth's employees and equipment aren't paid for by the general fund.
Instead, a fuel tax covers most costs, and climbing gas prices aren't helping.
"I think we're almost $4 now, and so people, they don't buy as much gasoline," Duckworth said.
It's now up to the county council to figure out where to nip and tuck the budget which is where that sharp scalpel comes in.
"I would say that it is a possibility that there could be some jobs thinned down or eliminated, particularly in that area. I mean, that is a possibility," Shetler said.
A possibility Shetler sees as a last resort and one Duckworth hopes can be avoided.
What can't be overlooked, it seems, is a deficit that won't go away.
"We can't keep kicking the ball down the field and hoping somehow somebody else is going to pick it up for us. We're going to have to do this," Shetler said.
Talk of jobs being cut or thinned are all just possibilities right now. President Shetler saying their objective would be to keep enough staff for snow removal and maintaining streets.
They also say they may take a look at the county's road repaving program.
The county council has about a month to work with budgets before they are finalized.
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