County Erases Jobs From Books 81 Positions, Most Of Them Unfilled, To Be Cut Starting Next Tuesday

Spokane County will save $2.7 million next year by eliminating 81 jobs - most of them unfilled but still showing on the books.

Tuesday, Commissioner Steve Hasson called the positions “phantom jobs, bogus employees running around here.”

The payroll debate started a few months ago when Hasson said he wanted to know how many people work for the county but no one could tell him.

Budget managers said Tuesday the actual number of county employees is 1,841, including about 75 authorized but mostly vacant jobs. Those jobs will be killed next Tuesday.

Another half-dozen mid-managers and building department workers recently were let go to streamline the organization.

Some of the savings in salaries and benefits are immediate, but most won’t be felt until next year, said Marshall Farnell, county budget and finance director.

Commissioner George Marlton worried that many of the jobs reduced through attrition are low-paying but essential for serving the public.

“If you’re going to sacrifice one job, I’d rather it be midmanagement,” Marlton said.

Commissioner Phil Harris noted that with the exception of a half-dozen people, commissioners are cutting jobs, not actual bodies.

Marlton, appointed to the three-member commission in June, cautioned Harris that he could be accused of micro-managing county offices.

“I’ll micro-manage every day,” Harris shot back. “I’ll micro-manage from now until hell freezes over.

“George, you’ve just come onboard. You’ve got to start thinking like a county commissioner instead of a politician.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: POSITIONS BEING CUT About 75 vacant jobs will be eliminated, mostly in five key areas: Six planning jobs, an annual savings in salary and benefits of $319,894. Three parks jobs, for $92,899. 10 building jobs, for $348,361. 34 roads department jobs, for $1,138,414. Eight vehicle department jobs, for $246,402.