7/15/03 In the face of budget shortfalls and layoffs, Santa Barbara County has come up with low-cost ways to help displaced county employees.

New job search assistance programs 77 including practice interviews, office space for internet and fax access, and lists of employers in the area 77 were implemented last month. Employees providing these services are salaried and not eligible for overtime, minimizing the cost to the county, officials said.

Today the county supervisors are expected to approve a plan that would allow laid-off employees who are rehired to purchase up to one year of retirement credit.

Under the plan, rehired employees could recoup time by playing into the system for the time they were absent 77 with only a minimal cost to the county, according to Joe Pisano, senior human resources analyst at the county.

Although 28 employees received layoff notices effective July 1, only four people have actually left county employment. The rest opted to exercise displacement rights 77 which allow them to take a lower-paying job and stay.

However, future layoffs are sure to come, said Lila Deeds, the county/s employee relations manager. The General Service Department recently prepared a plan for the next round of layoffs to come later this year, she said.

Just how deeply the cuts will go in the future is unknown.

"You might as well consult a mystic," Pisano said.

Staff writer Erin Carlyle can be reached by e-mail at ecarlyle@pulitzer.net