Facing a severe COVID-19 economic downturn, Dutchess County has accepted 152 of 173 applications for early separation, cutting the overall county workforce by 8.6% to save a projected $815,000 in 2020 and $10,927,000 in 2021. Positions cut are expected to remain vacant at least 18 months in order to yield those savings.
A department-by-department breakdown of positions shows a 14.5% cut to the county health department and a 9.6% cut to the Department of Community and Family Services, which oversees child protective services, foster care programs and youth services, among other responsibilities.
“The impact on core human services is very alarming,” said Minority Leader Rebecca Edwards who serves in the Dutchess County Legislature. “One of the biggest cuts is to the Health Department, in the midst of overlapping COVID, opioid, and mental health crises. The hardest-hit departments are those through which the county supports veterans, youth, and at-risk families. These priorities need to be reconsidered in the 2021 budget.”
Seeing fewer cuts are the District Attorney and Sheriff’s Department, which will be reduced by 2% and 4.5%, respectively.
| Department | Positions Cut | % of Department Cut |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | 8 | 23.5% |
| Community and Behavioral Health | 31 | 14.5% |
| County Exec | 2 | 14.3% |
| Probation | 16 | 13.9% |
| Community & Family Services | 36 | 9.6% |
| Office of Computing and Information Services | 6 | 9.2% |
| Public Works | 16 | 8.9% |
| Human Resources | 2 | 8.0% |
| Comptroller | 1 | 7.7% |
| Jail | 16 | 6.4% |
| Public Defender | 3 | 5.2% |
| County Attorney | 1 | 5.0% |
| Sheriff | 6 | 4.5% |
| Planning | 1 | 4.2% |
| Emergency Response | 2 | 4.0% |
| Aging | 2 | 3.7% |
| Legislature | 1 | 3.3% |
| District Attorney | 1 | 2.0% |
| Clerk | 1 | 1.6% |
| Traffic Safety / DWI | 0 | 0.0% |
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