YAKIMA, Wash. -- A series of cuts to reduce Yakima County's $1.1 million budget shortfall will be announced in April, a county commissioner said Thursday.

But employee wage freezes or reductions won't be part of the plan, at least for this year.

Neither will closure of the courthouse on Fridays as commissioners suggested late last year.

Some hours reductions may be possible for specific employee groups not represented by labor unions. One union contract, with Council 2 of the Washington State Council of City and County Employees, already authorizes the county to schedule employees on a 71/2-hour work day.

The announcements of cuts will follow a review of suggestions made over the past month by elected officials, department heads and bargaining units that represent a majority of the county's 1,200 employees.

Commission Chairman Mike Leita, following a meeting with elected officials to report on their suggestions, said all county departments will be affected in one way or another.

"I know it will be painful. We don't have an option," Leita said near the conclusion of the hour-long meeting at the county courthouse.

Leita said the county likely will seek concessions from labor unions in talks this year for new contracts that take effect in 2011. Most of the county's labor agreements expire this year.

Commissioners are trying to close the gap in the county's $51.9 million budget that occurred as a result of two factors -- a pledge to repay $500,000 in reserves used to balance this year's budget and the loss of $600,000 in state sales tax equalization funds.

Leita said he hopes the county can make the cuts without laying off any more employees. The county let go 26 employees to balance the 2010 budget.

"More layoffs are possible but the commissioners don't believe the past practice of laying people off is a good management strategy," he said. "My feeling is we should look at other measures to weather this downturn."

County commissioners returned to the county the 2.5 percent automatic pay raises granted them this year, suggesting other county employees follow suit as a way to eliminate the budget gap.

Other county elected officials said they would waive their 2.5 percent wage increases, but none have yet done so.

Human Resources Director Linda Dixon said state and federal law prohibits the county from allowing rank and file employees to reduce their pay by having money withheld from their paychecks.

Employees could write a personal check to the county for the amount of their wage increases. No one has yet taken that route.

* David Lester can be reached at 509-577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.