Jefferson County faces a $20 million budget shortfall | News

JEFFERSON COUNTY, AL (WBRC)- Jefferson County commissioners continue to struggle building a new budget for the coming fiscal year. Since the loss of the occupational tax, road work in the county has dropped off.

"They are going to be rougher than what people of Jefferson County are used to. We've always kept roads in prime condition. We don't have that opportunity any more," Wayne Sullivan, Roads and Transportation Director, said.

Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale will have to get by another year on $43 million. Hale is in dire need of new patrol cars but county officials say there this is no money for them.

"He needs new patrol cars. We don't have the money. We bought used patrol cars just to get by," Petelos said.

[VIDEO: JeffCo commission struggling to balance next year's budget]

The current, proposed budget calls for $200 million in expenditures but there is only $180 million in expected revenue.

"Once we get everyone's numbers then we can prioritize. Once we get everyone's expenditures and what we are going to do to move forward with revenue we have," Commissioner George Bowman said.

While County Manager Petelos says they can dip into reserves and maintenance costs to help cover some of the gaps, don't expect those long lines of people trying to do business at the courthouse to go away any time soon.

"We are at bare bones. We are at 800 less employees today than we were in 2011. We are having a very difficult time providing the services that the people expect in Jefferson County," Petelos said.

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