SOUTH BEND — With just one week until a state imposed deadline, St. Joseph County leaders have a new plan to balance next year's budget. It could include a new round of deep cuts.

Just three weeks ago, a new 0.95% increase in St. Joseph County's local option income tax (LOIT) took effect. But, county leaders say the additional revenue it's raising is only "softening" the blow.

On Tuesday night they met with department heads to search for new ways to fill a $2.1 million hole in next year's budget. Among the suggestions is the elimination of up to 55 county positions.

On top of the chopping block at Tuesday's meeting were 10 positions at the St. Joseph County Police Department including two merit based captain positions, 2 merit based corporal positions, one tax management warrant position, one food services supervisor position, one chaplain position, two civilian clerk positions, and one special deputy position.

Sheriff Frank Canarecci (D) called the proposed cuts of nearly 10 percent of the remainder of his department a "major mistake."

"We have cut 27 positions, many of them merit based, over the last three years. I think it would be a mistake to reduce public safety at a time when the argument used to passage of that tax was primarily public safety. It would have a direct and immediate impact on the patrol officers on our streets," he said.

It would also directly impact public safety, Canarecci argued, because he would have to pull officers off of street patrols to fill in on clerical positions.

"It makes no sense to me to have someone making $40,000 a year working in a position where we currently have people making $23,000 a year," he said.

He wasn't alone in pleading for other solutions.

One by one, department heads from across the county made last minute appeals to fight for their share of a shrinking pie.

Additional cuts of up to 10 percent from an already shrinking Parks Department budget, for example, could result in "shutdowns," Parks staff said.

"If the proposed cuts stay, this will not resemble the parks system you've known in the past. To keep all of the parks open and have absolutely no change...it's an impossibility," said Parks Department Board President Larry Catanzarite.

"If something doesn't change, not all the county parks can be open all the time," added Parks Department Director Evie Kirkwood. "We'll be looking at how to reduce expenses by reducing operating costs. And, that may mean parks close."

But, there were also suggestions to avoid those fates.

Canarecci suggested a "fuel surcharge" of between $8 and $12, tacked on to every traffic ticket written by his officers.

"That would just about save four of those five people I would be losing," he said. "Can it be done? I don't know. I'm not an attorney. But, I think it should be looked into. If Georgia can do it, why not Indiana?"

At least one Atlanta suburb has implemented the "fuel surcharge" plan already, Canarecci told the Councilmen and Commissioners. The approach seems to be working, he added.

There are also legal questions surrounding a patchwork solution to the Parks Department's fate.

$330,000 in St. Joseph County Hotel-Motel tax funding could help bail them out.

"That would mitigate almost all of the proposed cuts," Kirkwood said.

But, only the Hotel/Motel Tax Board can authorize that.

Some aren't sure they will, or even can.

"We looked at this for the last 4-5 years," said St. Joseph County Commissioner Andy Kostielney (R). "We've been told every time that we can't make these adjustments to the hotel/motel taxes without [the tax board's] consent. To my knowledge, no one has even contacted them to see if they can do this or not."

And, even if their answer is "yes," Kostielney says the legal questions will still remain.

"The law says it can go to tourism. So, then what's your definition of tourism?" asked Kostielney.

If those "out of the box" suggestions don't work, there is one other option: reserve funding. But, some say using it to fill the gap would be a big mistake.

"Everything points to 2011 being even worse than 2009. And if you're using funds that are not sustaining, then you're really just putting a patch on the situation," said County Council President Rafael Morton (D). "We would rather do it through solid budget cuts. Then, if we can't get there, we'll have to look at those as alternatives."

"Without the LOIT, the cuts would have been more significant," agreed Kostielney. "We would definitely have been impacting the lives of most county residents. But, the budget for 2011 looks like it will be even more crippling that it has been this year. So, we want to keep a safety net as wide as we can. We don't know exactly what the future is going to hold."

The clock is ticking to find an answer.

The final vote on next year's spending plan is set for next Tuesday, October 27th. County council members and commissioners will continue meeting with department heads Wednesday night.