Jefferson County faces temporary cuts | News

MT. VERNON, IL (KFVS)- County leaders in Jefferson
County, Illinois are crunching numbers trying to make their budget work.

This comes after federal
immigration detainees were removed from the county jail, taking a lot of
revenue with them.

Now, board members have agreed on a way to
keep the county's budget balanced.

When it came down to
finding a solution, cuts had to be made across the board to payroll and
employees, according to Jefferson County Board Chairman Robert White.

However, this is a
temporary decision.

As White made clear, once the center meets ICE standards,
they will be able to bring the detainees back to the center, bringing back the
revenue allowing job positions to be filled again.

It is that 45-day notice
employees must be given before any action can take place that is not making
this situation any better.

"The one's we are
responsible for, we have instructed our animal warden to do the layoff notices
and basically they are sent out to all of the employees," said White.
"But once that 45 days are up, depending on where we are at, and what
expense ultimately needs to be cut, he will have to make the management
decision for approval as to how many to lay off and for how long."

Could the removal of the
detainees could have been prevented?

Heartland News has reached
out to county Sheriff Rodger Mulch and the phone calls have not been returned.

According to White, had
this issue been brought to the board as more serious, it would of not been
looked over.

At this time, the county
is receiving proposals from local medical services, and employees have taken a
20 percent cut in pay.

White feels a larger chunk
should have been taken.

Copyright 2012 KFVS. All rights reserved.