Financial cuts are slowing the Douglas County pothole-prevention program.

County commissioners are cutting $100,000 from the county’s annual road-sealing program as part of a larger effort to fill a $1.8 million budget hole — a hole that opened when state leaders moved to help plug their own deficits with funds originally designated for use by counties.

That means this year, Douglas County will have $410,000 to spend covering some of 162 miles of county-maintained roads with crack-sealing asphalt. The county expected to have $510,000 for such work.

As a result, roads that typically would be sealed once every three years now will be sealed, on average, once every four years. And that means increased chances for potholes popping up in the years ahead.

The key will be restoring the lost funds for 2004, said Keith Browning, the county’s director of public works.

“If it’s an ongoing situation, then we’re going to see some deterioration,” he said. “With roads, it’s not an immediate effect. But what you do this year — or don’t do this year — may have an effect in a couple years.”

Craig Weinaug, county administrator since 1992, said the cuts put “roads at some risk,” but that the risk taken was not an “irresponsible” one. He considers the county’s roads to be maintained as well as or better than any of the other county roads in the state.

“We do a good job,” he said. “The results of these cuts are we’re not going to be able to do as good of a job as we have done in the past. Is that still an acceptable level of service? I think so.”