Shelby County commissioners unanimously approved scaled-back budgets Monday, saying county departments have identified ways to cut costs and move through the next fiscal year without hiring additional employees.

The county's general fund includes $1.8 million in cuts to capital projects and sets aside no money for future big-ticket items such as courthouse additions or other major projects that could be needed in the future.  The cuts are the result of an economic downturn that has the county expecting less tax revenues than in previous years.

"The years of 10 to 16 percent increases in annual revenues, I feel like, are over," Commissioner Lindsey Allison said.  "Adding substantial employees and huge capital projects are not going to happen like they happened through the 80's and 90's."

Allison said the county expects a couple more lean financial years before the local and national economies are thriving again.  She expected annual growth at that point to reach five to seven percent, a more stable level of annual growth than the explosive growth Shelby County began experiencing two decades ago.

Each department head has been looking to find ways to save money.  "It's across the board," Allison said.  "It can be as simple as not replacing computers that we generally replace every three years to not getting cars.  It's just those little things where you tighten the belt."

Allison said while no new employees are budgeted, no current employees will be laid off.  Also, the county is budgeting for increases in health insurance costs, meaning workers will not have to shoulder the cost themselves.  The budget also includes a two percent cost-of-living adjustment for employees.

Sheriff Chris Curry had asked commissioners to budget for 37 additional deputies, corrections officers and clerical workers to help his department overcome what he described as years of understaffing.  Comissioners instead approved what Allison called a partership employee pool.  The commission set aside up to $250,000 which the sheriff would use to match money from other government sources to hire some personnel.

"So there are opportunities there for getting additional positions this fiscal year," County Manager Alex Dudchock said of the partnership pool.  "But it's going to take collaboration and partnership with others."

For example, Dudchock said, the sheriff could partner with towns that have contracts for deputy service to match funds to hire some additional deputies.  The Sheriff's Office would draw money from the $250,000 pool while the other entity would provide matching money to pay for the additional staff.

The plan, however, would not provide the level of staffing the sheriff had sought.

Sheriff Curry did not comment specifically on the partnership plan Monday, saying he was not yet familiar with all the specifics of the concept.  Curry did, however, say county leaders need to form a comprehensive, long-range plan to adequately staff law enforcement.

"I don't think I have to dwell on the fact that the last several weeks have been indicative of the changing environment that exists in Shelby County," Curry said, referring to the discovery last month of five murdered men in a Shelby County apartment.  "We've got to get more deputy sheriffs involved in the community now before it's too late.  It's a window of opportunity."

Curry said two factors contributed to the gruesome crime that was discovered at the Cahaba Lakes apartment complex near Inverness.  First, he pointed to the state cutting funding for the county's drug task force several years ago.  Second, he said years of understaffing within the Sheriff's Office created a setting that made the crime possible.

"It is a great concern to me when we simply don't have enough people to meet the needs of the citizens because the end result of that is the degradation of the quality of the law enforcement and the confidence of the public," Curry said.

The sheriff said his department has generated money for the county over the last five years.  Between contacts to house federal prison inmates and other initiatives, Curry said nearly $10 million in new revenue had been pumped into the county's budget.  He said the county should budget that money for his office.

"We need that revenue specifically directed to law enforcement purposes, personnel, meeting the needs above and beyond the very rock-bottom minimums," Curry said.

"The County Commission and the sheriff are divergent in priorities," Curry said.  He noted the county had come up with a plan for water service for the next 20 years.  And while he agreed that plan was necessary, the sheriff said the county should also plan for growth in law enforcement abilities as the population continues to grow.

"My concern is the decisions we make today, some sheriff and some county commission are going to be held accountable for 10 years from now," Curry added.

Commissioners pointed out while the new budgets are indeed lean, all other county departments will be required to adhere to stricter spending guidelines in the coming year.  "It's fair.  And it's balanced," Commissioner Earl Cunningham said.

Dudchock said his office would work closely with the Sheriff's Office in the coming months to make the partnership pool a viable option for finding at least some needed staffing.  "We're known as being a very safe county, and we want to maintain that," Dudchock said.