He said he's asking all Wake County departments to identify possible cuts in their budgets by as much as 7 percent for 2011. That's on top of 10 percent cuts made for this year.
Cooke told ABC11 that the hiring freeze enacted last year will not be lifted.
"Income from property taxes is up a little bit, but sales tax revenue is way down, and development is slow growing. We are looking at an $8-11 million shortfall right now," Cooke said.
The 7 percent cuts include every department from the Sheriff's Office to parks and libraries. It does not impact Wake County Schools as they are working under different cuts Cooke explained.
On a positive note, there was an increase in new building permits issued in November 2009 over November 2008. That's the only increase shown in month to month data last year.
Wake County is expected to recover from the recession faster than other regions in the country. County commissioners received a report Monday that predicts that by 2030 Wake and its 15 county region will grow by 1.2 million people, including 700,000 new jobs and 500,000 new homes.
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