At a time when the economy is struggling, the City and County of Eau Claire are trying to get their budgets in order.

The proposed budgets are including job cuts in 2009.

The county says it will eliminate at least 7 spots. The city is waiting until Thursday when the council meets to talk about specifics, but city workers we spoke to say they're still coping with last year's cuts.

In the two years he's been working for the Eau Claire City Parks Department, Jared Shaw says there have been a lot of changes.

"This year we lost our college help, the 3 month seasonal workers. So, we try to prioritize what's more important than other things," says Shaw.

That doesn't mean they've cut back on projects.

"We're building new parks, we're working on different ball fields all over the places,” describes Shaw. “So less people and more work."

The city overall has the same number of employees as it did in 1980, even though the population has increased by 30 percent.

"Our parks workers and public works and public streets employees are actually down about 18 percent in the past 28 years," says Assistant City Administrator and Director of Human Relations Dale Peters.

The city has increased hires in the police and fire departments over the past few years, but it's been consolidating other positions.

"The fleet of vehicles that take care of our streets, the fire trucks, all take fuel,” says Peters. “Costs are going up much, much greater than the rate of inflation."

The county also has been facing a dilemma of providing services and providing benefits and competitive salaries for its employees.

"I think it's a reality,” says County Administrator Tom McCarty. “There's no guarantees in the world. None of us have an absolute guarantee that the positions exist forever."

With less funding from state and federal governments, administrators say the future isn't looking bright for the city or county budgets.

"We've been dealing with this model and these challenges for the past 3 or 4 years,” says McCarty. “I don't see that changing in the next few years."

None of these proposed cuts have been finalized. City leaders will meet to talk about their budget this Thursday, and the county will be holding public hearings and meetings on November 12 and 13 to finalize its plans.