Clear Creek County announced it is laying off some employees due to ongoing budget constraints.The county said it was laying off four employees and eliminating four other unfilled positions.Clear Creek County Commissioner George Marlin said he and his colleagues did everything they could to avoid doing what they ultimately had to do.We've looked at every other option, everything we can do to increase the efficiency of our operation, Marlin said. We've spent years and years doing everything we can to avoid layoffs and looking under every rock.The employees being laid off work in different county offices and are not in direct emergency service roles.In addition, starting on Jan. 2, administrative, planning, and non-emergency county employees will shift to a 32-hour workweek.Because of the shorter workweek, many county offices will have shorter service hours.Most will now be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.Aside from declining sales and property tax, which many communities are dealing with, Marlin said the countys financial struggles go back to 2015 when the local mine started producing less.That's really where we get our revenue from. We're getting half of the property tax revenue this year than 2015, so that's a $9 million loss, Marlin said.The county said it continues to address long-term structural challenges."Over the years, the County has worked to reduce staff through attrition and streamline non-essential services to ensure fiscal responsibility while maintaining critical operations. Since 2015, the County has made significant progress, reducing its workforce from 228 full time equivalents (FTEs) to 193 as of today. These measures reflect the Countys ongoing commitment to financial sustainability and effective governance in service to the community, the countys press release said.Marlin hopes members of the public will offer their own ideas.What we want to hear is, what are the ideas that you have, what are the services that you like, what are the services that you think you can live without, and what's your interest in paying more taxes, whether that sales tax or property tax or other options, Marlin said.The sheriffs office, EMS, transit and the transfer station will keep their normal operating hours.There's two things that I hope people take away from this: one is the government's still open and when you call 911, someone's going to show up and save your life or deal with a burglary, Marlin said.Public works will continue operating as usual, but the county said the divisions office hours will be shortened to 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.The employees who are being laid off will be paid through the end of the year and are being offered severance packages.For more information about the changes and the impact they will have on county business, click here.