Pasco County lays off 14

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Hit by a dramatic plunge in revenue from building permits, Pasco County laid off 14 people Wednesday, the first time in 26 years it's done so.

Twenty-two positions were cut from the county's building inspections and central permitting divisions, but eight were already vacant posts. The 14 who lost their jobs were building inspectors, electrical inspectors, a clerk, permitting and development technicians and storekeepers.

The laid off positions were funded by sharply falling building permit revenues, which went from $12.3-million last fiscal year to a projected $5.3-million in the year ahead.

County personnel director Barbara DeSimone said the county would try to help those laid off to find new jobs in other county departments with current open positions, such as the utilities department.

-- Chuin-Wei Yap, Times staff writer