Mecklenburg County commissioners approved a 2009-10 budget Tuesday night that will force deep cuts in county services, layoffs of hundreds of school teachers and closing libraries on Sundays.

Though the vote was unanimous, commissioners weren't altogether pleased with what's inside the $1.4billion spending plan.

It cuts $38 million to county departments, many of which have seen demand for services spike in the recession. Those cuts will lead to, among other things, layoffs of dozens of county employees and not opening a new youthful offender facility for the Sheriff's Office at full capacity

It cuts $34 million from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools – a reduction the district said will require laying off hundreds of teachers and school employees.

It provides 4.5 percent less to area nonprofit agencies, which have already seen funding from other sources decline, even as need across the community rises.

“I'm not satisfied with (the budget) because there are a lot of things that I'd like to see funded better,” said Commissioner Dan Murrey. “There are a lot of things that we'd like to do for the schools and for our employees that we're not able to do.”

The budget is the smallest adopted by the county in the past three years, largely because of drops in revenue sources such as sales taxes.

But Commissioner Neil Cooksey said the cuts also were a result of excessive spending by the board in past years.

“The situation we are in is not the result of an unlucky calamity caused by circumstances beyond our control,” Cooksey said. “In a real sense, it is the result, predicted by many … of the conscious decision of the majority of this board in recent years to spend as much money as possible on as many things as possible.”

Commissioners decided months ago not to raise property taxes, meaning leaders had to look for cuts to match the falling revenues.

Commissioner Karen Bentley said she thinks it was healthy for the county to dig deep into the budget and look for ways to be more efficient. She said she hopes the county doesn't lose sight of that goal once the economy begins to improve.

In an interview after the board vote, County Manager Harry Jones said leaders will need to eliminate the “false expectation that a turnaround in the economy is going to mean that you get back to the 2009 appropriation level.”

Still, Jones and commissioners said it's difficult to know when things might start to get better.

In the near future, the county is waiting for state lawmakers to adopt a budget for 2009-10. Some proposals in the state plan could cut funding given to some local agencies, or ask the county to pick up the tab for services currently paid for by the state.

In the interview, Jones said county staff does not know yet how Mecklenburg will fare in the state budget, including how quickly any reductions, if required, would be implemented.

Jones said that looking ahead, the county will need to do a more methodical review of its budget process, and continue talks on whether it can consolidate more work within its departments. He noted that the county has to continue to meet increased demand for its services.

“We don't have the luxury of turning people away who walk through our doors,” Jones said. “We've got to be vigilant to make sure that we're spending our money wisely.”

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