The public safety section as a whole has been asked to make a 1.25% reduction from its budget. While that may sound like a small number, it adds up very quickly.

For the third time this year, Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley stood in front of the commission, looking for ways to cut more than a million dollars out of his budget.

He says this means he may have to get rid of people and programs, things like the house arrest alternative to jail and a program that helps kids in needy areas. All of this, when his organization has been watching crime go up as the economy spirals down.

"The public needs to realize, if you don't have enough officers, you can't get to calls as quickly. We'll have to prioritize more succinctly," said Sheriff Haley.

And it trickles downward. Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick is being asked to cut half a million dollars, meaning he may have to lay off some prosecutors and cut programs.

Gammick says this means his office may not have the resources to prosecute some lower priority court cases, things like animal control, traffic and other misdemeanors.

"In the big spectrum of things, when it comes to prosecuting those or a burglary or a murder, I am going to pick the bigger cases," said Gammick.

Even the safety of local drivers may be compromised. The Washoe County Public Works director says snow removal and upkeep of roads and buildings may have to be trimmed down. That could mean less money going toward keeping the number of accidents and road problems under control.

"We will not be able to patch roads to the extent we used to, to crack sealed roads and take care of drainage improvements and those things to the same level of service as before," said Dan St. John, director of Washoe County Public Works.

Local citizens say public safety should be the last thing to go.

"Oh that is priority. Police is priority We have to keep an eye on that," said Javier Hernandez of Reno.

Reno's Carl Dubois added: "Especially today because of the increase in crime and the violence we are experiencing."

The county has to cut from somewhere. It really has no choice at this point, but the problem is, they're already working at a bare bones minimum. Some county organizations are struggling with less than half the staff they say they need to do their jobs effectively.

The prediction is that next year's budget shortfall may be even more severe. Once these latest cuts are made, the county will have eliminated more than 64-million dollars from its budget in the past three years.