AIKEN --- Aiken County officials, like many across the state, are concerned about whether the next legislative session is going to bring more state budget cuts.

They might find out soon.

The state Budget and Control Board meets next month and has the power to order cuts before the General Assembly begins in January. Revenue dropped 16.5 percent in October compared with the same month last year, and revenue for the year is down 9 percent, with less than $191,321,779 coming to the state, said state Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom.

"It's been a brutal year," he said. "We were hoping that things would finally start to turn around last month, but our hopes were just a little too high. We have joblessness as a factor, and even the people who are working are not making as much."

Aiken County felt the brunt of the state's declining revenue when council members voted to cut $1.5 million from the 2010 fiscal year budget in May, County Administrator Clay Killian said. The cut meant a hiring freeze, no pay raises and no new equipment, he said. The news of the deeper decrease in revenue will likely affect county services.

"We've already deferred purchases for the year, so the longer we defer those improvements and new equipment, the bigger our maintenance bills become," Mr. Killian s aid.

State funds primarily affect the capital funds budget, he said. Projects such as a new county building, county emergency services stations and other improvements could be put on hold if further cuts occur.

The cuts will also delay adding new vehicles to the aging fleet of Aiken County Sheriff's Office patrol cars, Mr. Killian said.

"The sheriff department drives a tremendous amount of miles, about 4,000 or more a month," he said. "We just have to wait out on getting them new ones."

In spite of the budget shortfall, Aiken County is in better shape than many in the state, Mr. Killian said. The hiring freeze saved the county more than $400,000, and careful spending in departments across the board has helped the county avoid layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts, he said.

"We anticipated a lot of these things, so we are doing most of our cuts on the operational side," Mr. Killian said. "We are just watching our spending acutely."

Mr. Eckstrom said the board will have a better idea on whether budget cuts will occur before the legislative session at the Dec. 15 meeting.

"The county and local governments may not see the increases they've seen in years past, but we will do the best we can to tighten the belts without harming the citizens," he said.