JEFFERSON — Ashtabula County has an austere permanent budget for 2010.

The Board of Commissioners approved the $18.7 million budget Tuesday afternoon, following a series of work sessions in which commissioners sought ways to maximize the $4.8 million left over after funding roughly $13 million in mandated costs. The vote was 3-0.

In terms of dollars, the biggest cut will be to the sheriff’s department, whose budget was slashed $1 million, to $4,051,315 for 2010. Sheriff William Johnson, anticipating the 20 percent reduction in appropriations, cut 27 positions from his department last week. About 72 percent, $2,900,522, of Johnson’s budget will go for personnel expenses.

In terms of percentage, the largest cut is agriculture, which includes funding for both Soil and Water and the Ohio State University-Ashtabula County Extension Office. The appropriations are equal to three months of last year’s funding: $46,456.43 for OSU Extension and $19,000 for Soil and Water, said County Administrator Janet Discher.

OSU Extension Educator David Marrison said he already has spent about $16,000 of that in the first six weeks of operation. If he puts the brakes on spending and leaves only his position intact, $25,000 (the county’s portion of his salary), he’ll have just $5,000 left to pay for office expenses. That will take the hours of service from 250 a week to 40 to 50.

“We’re not happy; we’re very disappointed to take a 75 percent cut,” Marrison said. “That’s bigger than any other line item.”

Cuts to other departments ranged from 9 percent for the auditor, who is taking on some duties previously performed by the commissioners’ office staff, to 30 percent for the treasurer, when compared to 2009 funding levels.

Treasurer Dawn Cragon said the budget gives her only $16,000 for salaries and benefits for four employees. She has a small amount of money in her Delinquent Tax Collection Fund that could be used to help pay staff, but she said it would be exhausted quickly. Further, the $16,000 she has to work with will be gone by the time she is done with the first-half tax collection closing.

Cragon said customer service will suffer.

“And that tears at me because I ran on improving customer service,” said Cragon, who took office in September 2009.

At this point, she’s focused on getting through the first-half collection period.

“We’ll have to make some major decisions after closing,” Cragon said.

The commissioners’ office will receive $388,321, which necessitates laying off three employees, not replacing the budget director and taking furlough days.

The Coroner’s Office will be funded at $230,140. Dr. Robert Malinowski, Ashtabula County coroner, said he will meet with this staff to discuss the appropriation Thursday. Malinowski said it is at least $100,000 less than what he needs to run the office effectively.

“I have no idea,” Malinowski said. “I can’t tell you anything until (investigator Rich Mongell) and (deputy coroner) Pamela Lancaster sit down and talk about it. How it’s going to play out, I have no idea.”

Judge Charles Hague’s Youth Detention Center will be funded at $831,500, the 2009 funding level set by the Ohio Supreme Court decision last year.

The Board of Elections’ request was cut by 10 percent, said Discher, giving the board $571,500 in 2010.

Recorder Judith Barta pleaded with commissioners during the work session to spare her department further cuts. Discher said after running the numbers, it became evident the least-expensive option was to fund Barta’s budget with enough money to take her existing staff down to 27-hour workweeks, which would allow them to keep their health insurance. Discher said that approach will be less expensive than what laying off the staff and paying out accrued vacation pay, plus unemployment benefits, would cost.

“It was prudent to keep all employed,” Discher said of Barta’s $157,762 budget.

The county’s building department was spared cuts, with $266,649 in funding. The staff of three and director will have to take furlough days to make the budget work, but Discher said cutting the department any further would eliminate it essentially. The department generates revenue for the county through fees, and on Tuesday, commissioners approved an agreement with Ashtabula city that will further increase that revenue stream.

The budget appropriates $34,506 to information technology (IT). The commissioners abolished the IT department at the beginning of the year. About $24,000 of that appropriation is unemployment payments; the balance is for salaries during January and to pay out of accrued vacation time. Commissioners also appropriated $198,609 to the Data Services Board, which has taken over the IT function. The board anticipates significant savings from the move to abolish IT and outsource the service, once the unemployment benefits expire.