In a pair of administrative meetings Monday, the Butler County commissioners told row officers and department heads to search for budget savings in their offices as the county looks for ways to cut $5 million from its budget.

Commissioner Leslie Osche, board chairman, said the meetings — one with row officers and a second with department heads — focused on both “mission and vision” as well as “people, process and technology and how we plan ... going forward.”

Osche said the commissioners asked row officers and department heads to look into staffing patterns, spending on materials and supplies and capital purchases for equipment and maintenance.

The pair of meetings was the first step in a weeks-long process the commissioners hope will find the county $5 million in savings, something Osche said was needed if the county is to replenish its depleted fund balance and operating reserve.

The commissioners said they will meet with row officers the week of Feb. 22 to discuss budget savings proposed by each official. That will be followed by meetings with department heads the week of Feb. 29.

The meetings with department heads will be broken into “clusters,” commissioners said.

Department heads from human services, veterans affairs and the elections office will meet together with the commissioners, as will planning, mapping and assessment and the county’s tax claim bureau. The third cluster includes the prison, facilities management, motor pool and parks officials, and the final cluster includes the county’s IT and purchasing departments.

County Controller Ben Holland, who gave presentations at both meetings detailing department spending levels, said he wouldn’t be surprised if those meetings prove to be just the first in a series of sessions. Holland said he believes the $5 million in cuts is achievable, but “it’s going to require some tough decisions” that may prove unpopular with county employees.

“My hope is that they understand we’re basically out of money,” Holland said. “We have no choice but to cut expenditures.”

In December, former commissioners Bill McCarrier and Dale Pinkerton approved a $150.7 million budget for 2016 with a 27.6 mill property tax rate. That rate includes a 3-mill increase.

“I really do think they need to hold their ground until they’re able to bring those expenditures back in line with actual revenues — not carry-over, not reserves; actual revenues,” Holland said. “And then they need to cut some more because they need to replenish their capital reserve, their operating reserve.”

Commissioner Kim Geyer said the commissioners already have cut the commissioners office by more than $147,000, bringing the office’s budget down to about $750,708 — close to what was spent in 2009.

“We wanted to lead by example and just show them,” Geyer said. “We just honed in our numbers to actual numbers to help us cut expenses; cut spending; be cognizant of what we are spending in our office.”

The board saved about $77,000 in salary and benefits by leaving one administrative assistant position in the office vacant. Geyer said the board also cut a total of $10,281 from their own salaries and eliminated budgeted expenses for overtime with budget preparation — something that cost the county about $31,000 last year.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel praised Holland’s office for working with the commissioners to present reports detailing each department’s spending level, which he said was important to show people that there are opportunities to cut spending.

“I think we’re going to have success moving forward, but this is probably a year’s process; two years’ process,” Boozel said.

Joyce Ainsworth, county director of human services, called the exercise a good first step.

“I found it incredibly positive, which was nice,” she said.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect. I can’t remember the last time all the department heads were together at one time.”

Numerous county row officers and department heads did not return messages seeking comment on the meetings.