Budget woes have prompted several lay-offs at the Logan County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Mike Henry says eleven employees are being laid off.

Five full-time corrections officers and six part-time employees in a variety of departments will be laid off at the end of the month.

The affected employees were told Monday.

The sheriff says two factors led to the lay-offs:

First, a decline in revenue from out-of-county inmates.

Second, a huge increase in fuel expenses.

Henry said the county jail used to make several hundred thousand dollars per year by housing inmates from Champaign, Madison, Allen, Montgomery, and Warren Counties.

Many of those counties have their own budget problems, which forced them to end their contract with Logan County.

Henry said that rising fuel expenses have drastically hurt the office.

The sheriff's office was using 205 gallons of gas per day.

The department is trying to reduce its consumption to 150 gallons per day.

Sheriff Henry said all patrol cars are parked and turned off for fifteen minutes of each hour.

These are the first lay-offs in Henry's 20-plus years as sheriff.

He said another round of lay-offs is likely later this year.

On a related note, Logan County Auditor Mike Yoder says the county's carryover in the General Fund has been decreasing the last six years.

In January 2002, the carryover was 6.3 million dollars.

In January 2008, the carryover was 1.4 million dollars.

By the end of March, it was down to $295,000.

Here's a look at the carryover numbers year-by-year:

2002 - 6.3 million

2003 - 6.1 million

2004 - 4.9 million

2005 - 1.6 million

2006 - 1.9 million

2007 - 1.9 million

2008 - 1.4 million

The sheriff declined to make any comments on tape, but he said yesterday was a very trying day.