This county (meaning the BOS and the County Executive's Management Team) really need to consider taking basic mathamatics again. If tax revenue isn't there now, and its down "x" percent, it isn't going anywhere up anytime soon, the projection for additional losses in sales tax revenue should be increased, not level, or decreased. The county operations are affected at least one-two years beyond any other entity (i.e. private) as a government agency affected highly by property values , tax collection, etc. This county, the BOS, and the County Executive need to get the math right before we will ever be able to put out the fires in county programs. If you are going to cut, don't chop an arm, then a leg... and then another leg and arm, and be left with nothing but a head and torso... just cut the program until we can sustain it again. It does absolutely no good to hobble a program along to satisfy a particular group, when the services provided aren't really there. We are wasting tax dollars by the hundreds of thousands as I speak. This BOS needs to get their own advice, other than from the County Executive... he's leading them down the path to hell slowly with diversionary tactics, rather than just taking them to the door, and saying, "Here is where we are at... open the door." Then and ONLY THEN can the BOS make informed decisions, that while unpopular, will sustain the county through this economic crisis, so we can bounce back on the other side of this mess some 3-6 years down the road. Government must change, the status quo doesn't work anymore. One more note, UPE's offer was the equiv. of saying we will give you back 5 cents an hour for every hour an employee works. It doesn't resolve the issue. Either take the .908, or propose SUBSTANTIAL cuts like your COLA, monthly furloughs, and additional layoffs. Don't try to take layoffs off the board for the rest of 09/10, or in future years. You are asking the BOS to be God's and Genie's... they aren't either... so don't tie your cuts to some out year or current year promise of no additional layoffs. The layoffs come because there is no money, there is less work, and there are no ways to keep government as big as it is. Revenue cuts = Personnel cuts... its really simple.