PORT ANGELES — Nobody in Clallam County government will lose his or her job next year because of budget cutbacks.
Clallam County Administrator Jim Jones said he expects to lay off no personnel in 2009 despite a chilly economic forecast.
And that makes Clallam unique among the state’s 39 counties, Jones told county commissioners Monday during a budget briefing he’ll repeat at public meetings today, Wednesday and Thursday.
What set the county apart from others was how Jones, his predecessor Dan Engelbertson, and the three commissioners chose not to spend increased tax revenues that began flowing into its coffers several years ago.
That money built up an $11.5 million reserve — maybe as much as $12 million — that the county can tap as income from sales taxes and new construction shrivels.
Thanks to the reserve, next year’s “deficit” of $2.25 million isn’t a deficit at all, said Commissioner Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles.
