Lay off employees or tap cash reserves? County’s budget gap swells by $209,000

Four months into 2011, Whitman County’s operating budget has dropped another $209,000 into the red.

Gary Petrovich, the county’s administrative coordinator, told county officials Monday the bleak outlook on the 2011 budget is getting bleaker.

“There are some potentially difficult things we’ll need to do in the future,” said Petrovich.

The 2011 current expense budget was passed with $660,000 in spending over anticipated revenue. Half that budget hole was to be plugged from the county’s cash reserves, with the remaining $330,000 to come from spending cuts from each county department.

With anothe...