The Freeborn County Extension Office could lose everything but its 4-H program, lake improvement projects would face a substantial setback, and commissioners would have to return their 3-percent salary increase and give up attending conferences in other states, under a recommendation the County Special Budget Committee put together Thursday.

The committee set a 4-percent cut across departments as the bottom line and asked some departments for extra trimming, the total of which generates $1.2 million savings out of the $31 million county annual budget.

Facing likely cuts in state funding and having already spent some of its reserves, the county faces the proposition of cutting its 2004 budget.

Though the committee avoided detailing what must be cut to meet the recommended targets, leaving department heads to decide, it targeted several programs and expenditures to be trimmed or vacated.

The extension office would be forced into a major organizational change. The recommended cut would take away 80 percent of its $160,371 budget. The committee meant for the department to maintain only the 4-H program.

The environmental services department’s $1,022,098 budget would be downsized by 22.5 percent under the plan. The committee specified the $275,000 budget for Shell Rock River Watershed work to be trimmed to $75,000.

Other departments where the committee suggested cuts bigger than the 4 percent standard were: the administration office (10 percent), public health (6 percent) and the sheriff’s office (6 percent).

&uot;The people on the committee gave a good starting point to bring to the board,&uot; Committee Chairman Dan Springborg said.

Though the recommendation is simply a base for discussion by the county board, which will make a final decision, it was enough to embarrass department heads.

Environmental services director Randy Tuchtenhagen is not satisfied with the committee’s idea, citing the cut would jeopardize the county’s effort to prevent a watershed district from being formed.

The timing is the worst for Tuchtenhagen. The State Board of Soil and Water Resources (BWSR) halted processing the petition by residents asking for the watershed district, and gave the county a chance to prove its commitment to the improvement projects. The state agency is in the final stage of making a judgment.

&uot;(With the cut) I can almost guarantee the Watershed District will be formed. It hurts after two years of work to lose at this point,&uot; Tuctenhagen said.

A group of local citizens petitioned BWSR to create the board, which would have taxing authority and would coordinate watershed improvement projects, in 2000. The state agency agreed to give the county a chance to handle the projects on its own before deciding whether to appoint a board. Watershed problems include pollution and erosion in Albert Lea’s two lakes.

The committee, comprised of two commissioners with six citizen participants, also recommended the commissioners change their minds about their 3 percent cost of-living-salary increase, halt all travel outside the state and renounce reimbursement for meals.

The county attorney’s office was asked to include reduce the salary of department head Craig Nelson to the lower end of a range recommended by a judge. Nelson challenged his salary in court this year, saying it was set arbitrarily and that his duties and performance justified more pay.

As a long-term goal, the committee suggested privatizing the driver’s license bureau and merging the finance manager positions of the department of human services and the administration office.

Committee members include commissioners Springborg and Dan Belshan; department heads Lois Ahern of Public Health and Randy Tuchtenhagen of Environmental Services; and citizens Frank Gjersvik, Jeanne Venem, Brad Haugen, Jim Blair and Warren Jensen.