Lawrence and Douglas County each will take million-dollar hits under cuts made by Gov. Bill Graves.

The cuts will cost Douglas County government $1.6 million next year from a fund that covers everything from paying sheriffâÂÂs deputies to spraying dust palliative on rural roads. The loss for the city will be in the range of $1.3 million.

âÂÂItâÂÂs a major catastrophe,â said Craig Weinaug, county administrator. âÂÂIf they had told us last May or June that they would cut, weâÂÂd have been able to plan for it. To tell us after our budget is set is, to me, the height of irresponsibility.âÂÂ

The countyâÂÂs financial pain is the result of $48.1 million in savings Graves identified Tuesday by deciding to withhold âÂÂlocal demand transfersâ to cities and counties.

In Lawrence, such transfers are used to finance a variety of programs in the general fund, which outlines spending plans for road repairs, police and fire protection, and dozens of other government operations.

Anticipating the cuts, city officials already had imposed a hiring âÂÂchill.â Now, more such measures are likely. Department heads will meet in early December to map out a plan of attack, City Manager Mike Wildgen said.

City commissioners donâÂÂt relish the task. They wonâÂÂt have the option of raising taxes; tax rates already are set, which means cuts are the only option.

Gravesâ announcement is expected to cost the city of Lawrence $1.3 million through the end of 2003, or nearly 3 percent of the cityâÂÂs $44.8 million general fund budget.

County government has from $1.6 million to $1.9 million in reserve funds that could cover its loss of state revenue, Weinaug said, but such a respite would last only a year.

Weinaug said county commissioners would need to look for cuts in next yearâÂÂs budget – a budget created with the stateâÂÂs assurances that $1.6 million would be available to help defray the cost of basic services for county residents.

In June, county commissioners faced cutting six employees from the county payroll to account for expected losses in revenues, but commissioners ended up expanding the payroll after the outlook improved.

Now such difficult decisions could be back on the table.

âÂÂThe rhetoric in the campaign in November was that they could eliminate the inefficiency in government,â Weinaug said. âÂÂIâÂÂm glad to know theyâÂÂre sending us the message that all the money they send to local government is an inefficiency – itâÂÂs wasted money. On the face of it, thatâÂÂs total malarkey.âÂÂ