Sacramento County has made about 340 fewer layoffs than it had predicted it would make as a result of June budget cuts.

County officials in June estimated that at least 725 employees could be laid off. The county resolved a $181 million budget gap in June when it passed a first draft of its budget.

But County Budget Officer Tom Burkart said in an interview Wednesday that the county ended up laying off about 380 people, instead of 725.

“The 725 actually was an estimate,” Burkart said. “And we did cut 700-plus positions, but they weren’t laid off.”

Retirements, demotions and vacant positions kept the number of out-the-door layoffs down,
according to Burkart.

The county’s layoff process is lengthy, so it is not immediately clear how many people will be laid off when officials provide an estimate for the number of layoffs.

In its layoff process, the county follows certain civil service employment rules and takes employee seniority into account, said county spokeswoman Chris Andis. This complex process results in some employees being demoted instead of laid off, according to Andis. 

The Board of Supervisors is holding a hearing on Sept. 8 to approve its final budget and vote on adjustments the county has made to its budget since June. As part of the adjustments, the county is planning to cut additional positions in the Engineering Department and in the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a document written by Interim County Executive Steven Szalay for the Sept. 8 meeting. 

The budget hearings may continue on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10, according to Andis.

But the Sept. 8 meeting won’t provide a finalized county budget picture. While the board will approve the budget for the 2011 fiscal year next week, the county’s budget could change again when the state budget passes. Sacramento County administers state programs and is affected by state budget cuts. 

The board’s Sept. 8 budget meeting begins at 2 p.m. at 700 H Street.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.