WARREN — Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder is threatening to sue the commissioners if she is forced to lay off 40% of her staff because of sharp cuts being proposed in the county’s 2025 general fund budget.

The commissioners are looking to make significant cuts throughout the county to balance a projected budget of more than $66.5 million.

Yoder’s budget request was $4.2 million, which the commissioners want to trim to about $3 million. The auditor said the proposed budget being considered by the commissioners for her office is $286,000 less than the $3,286,600 that her office brings into the county.

“I cannot continue to adequately provide mandated or critical services at anything under a budget of $3,576,261.89,” she said. “There still will be layoffs.”

Layoffs in her office will be made by April 1 if no adjustments are made.

“If nothing changes, waiting until the end of the year to do layoffs would result in closing my office for the last two to three months of the year,” Yoder said.

Yoder noted she is taking immediate actions to lower her office’s costs in anticipation of budget cuts, including stopping the recording and broadcasting of all commissioners meetings, stepping away from doing American Rescue Plan tasks not required of her office and cutting back on financial education seminars to other county offices.

The auditor’s office also will defund the county’s tax map program and step back from the county’s budget process. She noted that real estate combinations and splits likely will take longer to process and the payment of bills will be slower because her staff will be smaller.

The commissioners’ proposed reductions to her department will cut her budget to less than 10% of the actual amount spent in 2024.

Yoder said the proposed actions she anticipates taking is in the best interest of Trumbull County to ensure mandated services are done.

She recommended the commissioners use the unexpected $2 million it received from former Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Karen Infante-Allen earlier this year to fill the holes in the county’s operating budget, as well as beginning the process of passing a 0.25% sales tax increase. The proposed sales tax increase could net the county another $2.67 million in revenue in 2025 and up to $8 million a year moving forward.

Commission President Rick Hernandez suggested suing the commissioners would not be beneficial to the county’s operations.

“We are here to work together to make this work,” Hernandez said. “It is not easy for the commissioners to do what we have to do to make the budget work given the numbers we have to work with.”

Commissioner Tony Bernard questioned the number of layoffs Yoder is anticipating if the county’s budget number remains at $3 million and who would be the first person laid off.

Yoder said it would be the person who records the commissioner’s meetings, so the public can see them on YouTube.

Commissioner Denny Malloy responded by saying any potential lawsuit would be in the best interest of the auditor, not to the county.

“How about coming in and working with the county saying I know there is a problem, this is a little tight and work on this before it is certified.” Malloy stated.

“I don’t do well with threats,” Malloy said. “Come to us with an idea. Don’t come to us with an opinion on something unless you have a plan B.”

He recognized that Yoder presented a plan B by suggesting raising the sales tax.

“I can appreciate that,” he said.

Malloy said if other department heads came to them with the idea of raising the county sales tax, instead of cutting services, they would have to consider that option.

However, Malloy said he already has received texts and emails from county residents thanking the commissioners for not increasing the sales tax.

“If there are services that are going to be cut, clearly, there will be less deputies and longer waits in the auditor’s office,” he said. “The public is not going to be able to watch meetings and, perhaps, offices will not be cleaned as often.”

Malloy said if the public is willing to tolerate that in order to pay less sales tax, they have to inform the commissioners.

“If they are not willing to tolerate that, then they have to let us know that also,” he said. “We have to be responsible to the taxpayers and their dollars.”

Malloy described department heads needing to come to the commissioners to tell them where they can make cuts and trim the budgets, so the commissioners can balance the county’s budget.

He said the 2025 budget has not been finalized.

“It is a work in progress,” he said. “We did that with the idea of having constructive dialogue with department heads. We are open to suggestions.”

Bernard said he would not consider a 0.25% sales tax increase until he is convinced the county has done everything it can to reduce spending. He also noted he would not decrease the number of sheriff deputies on the road. Any sales tax increase proposal would be put to voters to decide, he said.

Other department heads, including the sheriff and prosecutor, also do not want to see their budgets cut, Bernard said.

Yoder said she is willing to work with the commissioners to address their budget concerns and will not immediately file a lawsuit. However, she added, she will hire an attorney to prepare a lawsuit if necessary.

Hernandez questioned if the county has previously been sued over budget issues.

Assistant County Prosecutor Bill Mason said it had been sued in the 1980s and the 1990s.

“It is unfortunate,” Mason said. “It is the last resort for most people.”

Mason added that Prosecutor Dennis Watkins also is working on a response to the budget recommendations provided to his office from commissioners.

“The amount that our budget was cut also will have a serious impact on our operations and our office was already very, very bare bones,” he said. “We will give our response and proposals.”

The sheriff department’s budget also is facing cuts, with a proposed budget that provides them with $1.3 million less than was spent in 2024.

“We just ask not to be cut any further right now because that’s not going to be less than payroll,” Trumbull Sheriff Mike Wilson said.