Other articles by Erica Meltzer:

County staff in $100K club up 87% since 2006Supervisors fret about Kino money, to file brief in Phoenix garage casePima weighs new, less-complicated system of building feesPima plans to buy 4 parcels for open spacePima County set to spend $12.8 million on land purchases Major data firm drops plan for S. Ariz. site amid power concerns Firm's input on Kino Hospital shushed Off-road track at center of Court of Appeals challenge Gate near river is cut, restored County gets role in Rosemont mine study

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic

Pima County will lay off 23 employees from its Development Services Department.

Combined with losses from attrition over the last year, that brings the department to less than half the size it was a year ago and its fewest employees since 1995.

The job cuts are the first layoffs of full-time public employees here directly tied to the economic downturn. The county laid off 63 employees from Pima Health System earlier this year, but that was the result of losing a bid to provide services to Medicaid patients.

The cuts will save the county $516,000 this fiscal year and almost $1.5 million next year.

Development Services, which oversees planning, permit review and zoning enforcement, has been hit hard by the decline in the housing market. Development Services is an enterprise fund, meaning permit fees are supposed to cover costs.

Revenues are down 47 percent from what was budgeted, and permits are at their lowest levels since the early 1990s.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said these may not be the last layoffs in the county or even in Development Services. He has asked for midyear budget cuts of 2.5 percent from every department, and county officials are bracing for potential cost shifts from the state as lawmakers seek to balance their budget in Phoenix.

David Mitchell, president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents county workers, said job protection will be a priority for the union as it enters into "meet-and-confer" discussions with management in January.

"Given the economic reality, not just in the county but all across the country, there is going to be tremendous job loss," Mitchell said. "One of the things about county workers providing services to county residents is, you can only cut so far before taxpayers start getting short-changed in terms of services."

The union cannot engage in collective bargaining, but Mitchell said he believes employees have a lot of ideas about how to save money and work more efficiently without cutting jobs. Mitchell also said the union will be monitoring layoff plans to make sure they comply with county rules.

The layoffs in Development Services have been anticipated for some time. Last fiscal year, the department dipped into an $11 million reserve fund built up in the boom years, and by the end of this fiscal year in June, the department will have spent roughly $8 million of that, Huckelberry said. Even with the layoffs, it's unclear whether the department will have enough money to cover its costs next year.

The department started the fiscal year July 1 with 135 budgeted positions, down from 182 the year before, mostly from attrition.

Since July, 25 employees found work in other departments. On Wednesday, another 23 employees were told they will be out of a job on Jan. 19.

Huckelberry said the laid-off employees will have preference for openings in other departments, but the jobs may pay less or be in areas for which the employees are overeducated. The county has a hiring freeze in effect and is filling only essential positions.

Development Services Director Carmine DeBonis said he is working with Human Resources to find positions for which the laid-off employees may be qualified.

Supervisor Richard Elías, who earlier this year had hoped to consider midyear pay raises, said the county will do what what it can to preserve jobs.

"You have to look at where you're providing essential services, and that's how you make these decisions. "It's hard in the enterprise funds. Fixing the housing crisis is the only thing that's going to protect those jobs."

Supervisor Ray Carroll, who has long criticized the number of unclassified employees — employees outside civil service protections and under appointment by the county administrator — said they should also be considered if more layoffs are necessary.

"They should be the first to go, or at least in proportion to the classified employees," he said.

Elías said everything needs to be on the table, and Huckelberry said that if layoffs are necessary, all positions will be considered.