Amador County - In a sign of the times, neighboring Calaveras County also laid off nine employees and implemented a hiring freeze. In November, eight Building Department employees were let go after declining construction activity reduced fees that make up the majority of that department’s budget. Assistant Calaveras County Administrative Officer Shirley Ryan said Calaveras County will likely make it through the end of this fiscal year in June without further layoffs. Governor Schwarzenenegger ordered state-mandated furloughs last Friday, which will save the state a combined $678,000 in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. The state budget deficit is projected to grow to $42 billion by June of 2010. Current mandates apply to 238,000 state workers, resulting in two unpaid days per month. Statistics released by Tuolumne County estimate a monthly savings of $616,000 as a result of furloughs. The recent cutbacks have raised questions about whether Calaveras County Supervisors are using funds effectively. An annual discretionary fund of $5000 has been used by supervisors in recent years to support local civic groups. Supervisors are discussing whether or not freezing these funds will have a significant effect on county coffers. Although Ryan predicts the end of layoffs for this fiscal year, decisions over the state budget could change that situation. Both Ryan and Amador County Administrative Officer Terri Daly have cited the state as the major variable in these decisions. Daly said “we hope that we will not have to impose additional layoffs. However, we are still waiting for the state Legislature to act on the state budget. The state may defer payments to counties for mandated programs, which would put us in another credit crunch.” In a memo Friday to all employees, Daly said state budget “deferrals of payments to the counties are possible, if not probable.” Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).