Eaton County's budget is like most of its kind-- on the short end of revenue. And it may cost 20 jobs throughout the county.

The Sheriff's Department will take the brunt of the cuts, which isn't unusual since it's the county's biggest department. It makes up approximately 40 percent of the county budget, but it appears the slashing won't add up to that much there. Undersheriff Fred McPhail says the department was asked to cut about $410,000 dollars, which meant five jobs gone. But the good news is the department was able to avoid layoffs by reassignments, retirements and not filling open positions.

Public safety should not be affected.

"We didn't make any cuts in the road patrol," said McPhail. "Citizens shouldn't see any difference in service."

Elsewhere in the county, folks shouldn't notice the job cuts other than waiting a little longer in lines at county buildings.

"We were looking at a $1.6 million dollar deficit, so we've made cuts of $1.7 million," said Joseph Breahler, Chairman of the Eaton County Board of Commissioners. "Everyone was very cooperative for the most part to make sure these cuts came with as little pain as possible."

Breahler also isn't optimistic for the next few years. He says if income stays flat and expenses keep rising there could be more cuts to come.
But, once the state economy rebounds, the Eaton County budget should stabilize and even make it possible to replace these jobs.

The Board of Commissioners is meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the county courthouse. Basically, this meeting is just to present the $33 million dollar budget-- cuts and all-- but there will be public comment.