Florida county slashes payroll to save

St. Lucie County, Florida, officials cut back payroll for some of the county's highest earners as a cost-saving measure, Treasure Coast News reports. In all, salaries were slashed for those making more than $100,000, including an 18 percent drop in six-figure earners. Records indicate 386 county employees along the Treasure Coast - including St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties - earned more than $100,000 in 2009 and 2010, TCPalm reports.

St. Lucie County, specifically, had 169 county employees earning six figures in 2010 - a 10 percent drop from the previous year. In the city of Port St. Lucie, 12 of the 67 employees who earned more than $100,000 in 2008 and 2009 saw their income shrink.

"I'm not surprised," Port St. Lucie City councilman Jack Kelly told TCPalm about the payroll cuts. "That's the standard for the economy right now. That's the movement. And that's the way it should be."

TCPalm also reports that budget cuts are related to declining housing prices in the area, which have generated less tax revenue to pay for services and salaries.

Salaries were cut for public service employees as well. The St. Lucie County Fire District cut the number of six-figure earners by 6 percent year-over-year.

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