There's nowhere to hide from the growing shortage of money, certainly not in the Amador County Board of Supervisors Chambers.

At Tuesday's meeting, County Administrative Officer Terri Daly praised the county supervisors for their caution and restraint, then outlined the present budget situation and projected the rather dismal figures for next year's budget.

Property tax revenues are expected to rise only slightly, while other revenue sources are predicted to stagnate, if not drop significantly. Any funding from the cash-strapped state of California has to be viewed with the recognition that payment from the state may be late or cancelled outright.

Daly pointed out that the county had instituted a hiring freeze and suspended travel budgets a year before the state realized it had to take the same steps.

At this point, midway through the fiscal year, Amador County is suffering the effects of budgetary limitations. Costs associated with the closed landfill, casino legal battles and general plan updates are contributing to higher than usual expenditures. Some revenues that used to be received monthly have become two payments in the second half of the year, forcing the county to provide financing for some state programs.

For next year, county departments will be required to prepare their budgets with no increases in services and supplies. The hiring freeze will continue, with new positions possible only if their creation results in no net increase to department payroll. As has been an expanding policy, technology will be considered county government's strongest ally, with online services encouraged and online programs utilized where possible.

With seats in the supervisors' chambers filling in anticipation of the upcoming Buena Vista casino public hearing, item 7 on the agenda was decided quickly.

Listed under miscellaneous matters, the Community Development Block Grant application, continued from the March 4 meeting, elicited no public comment. At Chairman Richard Forster's request, General Services Administration Director Jon Hopkins stepped to the podium to say that county buildings were in need of $7 million worth of upgrades and repairs, $1.5 million in Americans with Disabilities Act compliance work. Supervisor Louis Boitano mentioned an elevator project to make the old courthouse ADA compliant.

Community Development Block Grants for 2008 can be applied for to fund either programs or projects: two programs, or one program and one project. Last year, CDBG grants funded a job training program and a first-time homebuyer's program. The board of supervisors voted to apply for grants for the same two programs this year.