Revenue from real estate transactions is drying up so quickly that two county governments are facing budget shortfalls in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Plymouth County will soon furlough workers for 10 days without pay to help make ends meet.
Plymouth County is struggling with a $700,000 shortfall this year. County commissioners last week approved slashing top administrators' pay by 20 percent and forcing employees to take off 10 days of work without pay by June 30.
The furloughed workers will come from such offices as the registry, the maintenance department, and the treasurer's office. The plan does not affect the sheriff's office or the agricultural school, which each run on a separate budget.
Jeffrey M. Welch, chairman of the Plymouth County Commissioners, said shortly after the vote that approving the plan was painful, but the alternative was to lay off several dozen people. Parts of the plan are subject to union negotiations, which are expected to take place this week.
"Nobody thought the real estate market would drop as much as it did," said Welch, noting that 60 percent of the county's revenues comes from the registry of deeds offices in Plymouth, Brockton, and Rockland.
In Norfolk County, commissioners are grappling with a slightly higher shortfall of $800,000, but commissioners are not planning any layoffs or salary reductions. Last year, however, county commissioners laid off about six workers and they continue to leave several vacant positions unfilled.
Although county officials first noticed the real estate slowdown about two years ago and started to plan then for lower revenues, the drop in revenue has been far more dramatic than they, or the state, anticipated, county officials said.
In one key revenue area - transaction fees, which are largely generated by new mortgages or refinancing - Plymouth County expected to earn $4.4 million this year. But that estimate appears to be about $525,000 more than will be collected. Norfolk County planned on $3.8 million in transaction fees, but that projection may turn out to be $1 million too high.
The drop in transaction fees comes even as the federal government reduces interest rates, which typically leads to a spike in new mortgages and refinancing. But this time around, that's not happening, county officials say.
"A lot of potential borrowers don't have enough equity because of a reduction of value of their home," said Dan Matthews, Norfolk County director. "It's very unusual to have interest rates declining and not have registry of deeds revenue increasing."
In Bristol County, commission chairwoman Maria Lopes said that although they, too, are experiencing decreasing revenue, the problem hasn't been severe enough to warrant any layoffs, reductions in pay, or even a hiring freeze. She, however, didn't have specific numbers to release.
"I don't expect any deficit," Lopes said in a phone interview last Wednesday. "You treat [decreasing revenue] like you would your finances at home. You are not going to spend more than what comes in."
About 50 Plymouth County employees packed a meeting room Tuesday night in downtown Plymouth as county commissioners there considered the cost-cutting plan. Sitting shoulder to shoulder along the long wooden benches in the registry of deeds building, the employees mostly kept quiet and asked only a few questions before the vote.
While few were happy about the reduction in hours, most preferred it over layoffs.
"Ninety-five percent of people are saying let's save these jobs and not hurt anyone," said Jim Tobin, the registry's copy department head, in an interview shortly after the vote. "We are a close family in the registry. Everyone cooperates in helping out their fellow colleague."
Nevertheless, the reduced hours, which works out to be a 3.8 percent cut in pay for the remainder of the fiscal year, will present a struggle for many employees, he said. Most of the approximately 100 affected county jobs are not high-paying. The median salary for county employees is about $37,000, according to county commissioners.
To help balance the burden, the commissioners decided to enact a higher pay cut - 20 percent - for top administrators. The treasurer and the register of deeds each make more than $100,000.
The county also is trying to generate additional revenue with the sale of a building in downtown Plymouth, and it will cut three positions, one of which is vacant. The other two staffers would be redeployed to critical unfilled positions, subject to union negotiation.
The furloughs, county commissioners said, shouldn't compromise services the registry offices offer the public because employees will be scheduled for different days off.
However, a few attendees at Tuesday night's meeting asked the commission to explore any financial savings from closing the registry offices in Brockton and Rockland, while redeploying those positions to Plymouth.
County administrators said it was unlikely any savings would be gained by closing the Brockton office since other county or state services are in that building. They said they would further explore the Rockland option, but pointed out the county still has a few years on the lease.
During the meeting, a Hanover town official questioned whether the county was a bit late in assessing the downturn in revenues this year, possibly forcing the county to undertake the cost-cutting plan unnecessarily.
But county commissioners said they have been keeping a watchful eye on finances and attributed the problem to the economy, which shows no signs of a quick rebound, creating potential problems for at least another year.
"This drop of income will be with us for some time," Diana Lothrop said at one point during the meeting.
She later added, "Every employee and administrator will feel some level of pain."
James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.
