The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors was advised six months ago to make budget cuts in the face of the state's financial woes and of uncertain tax revenues.

Had officials acted then, said board Chairman Rusty Dupray, the current impact might have been less severe.

Instead, on Tuesday, the board bit the bullet and voted to eliminate 5 percent of employee positions to head off a projected $20 million deficit in the next fiscal year.

The board agreed to cut 90 positions, 49 of which are filled. The county work force currently totals 1,972 employees.

The cuts affect 26 departments, from law enforcement to library services, and more layoffs are likely. Gayle Erbe-Hamlin, county chief administrative officer, said the bulk of reductions in Health Services – mental health and public health – will be considered Dec. 16.

The cuts, which take effect Jan. 3, will save about $3.1 million this fiscal year and result in annualized savings of $6.5 million, reducing the projected 2009-10 general fund deficit to $10.6 million, Erbe-Hamlin said.

"We are in trouble, and I don't think it's going to get better," said Dupray.

The board had sought to avoid cutting deputy sheriff positions. But Sheriff Jeff Neves said he opted to eliminate seven unfilled positions rather than make deeper cuts in support staff, such as dispatchers and records clerks.

Neves said not filling the seven positions would mean reassigning deputies to patrol duties, including those serving as school resource officers and handling specialized duties like vehicle abatement. "These are sustained reductions that we can deal with, but it is a reduction in service levels," Neves said.

Cuts in the Human Services Department include welfare fraud investigators. The board received petitions with nearly 200 signatures protesting those cuts, especially in a tight economy when welfare applications are on the rise.

Those investigations will be handled by the District Attorney's Office, for a savings of about $250,000, said District Attorney Vern Pierson.

Some cuts may be more visible to the public.

Jeanne Amos, county library director, said in an interview that her staff will lose 2.4 positions that became vacant last month. Also of concern is the potential loss of employees who assist with everything from children's programs to reference requests.

Amos said the goal is to limit the impact on services, but library hours may be reduced. "The sands keep shifting," she said of the county's increasingly bleak budget forecasts.

County government isn't the only public agency in the county struggling to make ends meet. The El Dorado Irrigation District, which serves about 100,000 customers on the west slope, has announced that it might cut up to 40 positions if employee unions do not agree to furloughs and elimination of cost-of-living and merit increases.

The county and the irrigation district have been hard hit by the downturn in housing construction.

In Placerville, the county seat, officials are keeping an eye on the trickle-down effect.

Sales tax revenues, which account for about 45 percent of the city's general fund budget, were down about 19.4 percent for the quarter ending in August compared with the same quarter last year, said Dave Warren, finance director. The decline was due in part to the loss of a major auto dealership last November.

In addition, he said, the city's utility billing department has received more notices of customers filing for bankruptcy this year than in any of the past five years.

It is hard to say what impact county layoffs will have on the city's economy, Warren said, "but with any layoff, that is one less consumer who has discretionary dollars to buy things in the city."

Laurel Brent-Bumb, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce executive director, called the county government layoffs heartbreaking for employees and their families. The one bright spot, she said, is that the layoffs don't take effect until January, so people will have paychecks through the holidays.

As far as the impact on merchants, Brent-Bumb said she expects retail sales will be "a little flat" this holiday season.

"I think everybody is spending less," she said.

But Brent-Bumb said she sees a bit of a disconnect between the general state of the economy and local business.

Business owners complain that the economy is horrible, Brent-Bumb said. But when she asks how their business is doing, she said most reply, "Oh, I'm OK."

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 608-7451.