ANDERSON, Ind. — After more than one dozen meetings, the Madison County Council approved a final budget Monday, but it got the support of only four members.

Instead of using a projected budget model of $39 million, council members started with the $35 million 2009 budget and made a series of cuts to pare down expenses.

The council was facing a $3.8 million deficit due to reduced revenue forecasts in the wake of property tax caps.

By Monday, the council had cut $2,360,839 by slashing 21 jobs and forcing county employees to pay a portion of their own retirement funds.

Five of the jobs were saved using the county assessor’s reassessment fund, and the most controversial portion of the meeting occurred when Madison County Prosecutor Tom Broderick asked that the council rescind its decision to cut one job from his office.

In a 4-3 vote split down party lines, Broderick’s wish was granted by Democratic members John Bostic, Larry Higgins, Buddy Patterson and Bill Savage.

Republican council members Larry Crenshaw, Mike Phipps and Gary Gustin voted against rescinding the layoff and all three also voted against the budget, believing more could be cut to better prepare the county for future dips in revenue.

Broderick said he could not afford to lose the position, that of a deputy prosecutor, because his department only has nine deputy prosecutors compared to 22 public defenders.

“We just simply don’t have anybody else to cut. I ask again for your consideration,” Broderick said.

Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson addressed the council immediately after, asking that the council provide any layoff relief to his department, which lost four positions.

The sheriff said he is being forced to cut one patrol officer, one police jail officer, one civilian jail officer and one clerical position.

“We’ve taken a bigger hit out of any other department,” he said. “We’re the first line of service for public safety.”

The sheriff was not granted permission to keep any of the four employees slated for layoff.

Soon after Broderick’s request to keep his position was heard and granted, Superior Court Judge David Happe approached the council and asked that other departments be given the same chance to present an argument to spare jobs, since they also faced job cuts.

Crenshaw agreed that either all county job cuts should remain intact or each department should get a chance to plead for their at-risk jobs. “How can you deny a judge or any other department head the same opportunity?”