 The Letcher Fiscal Court managed to balance the county's 2016-2017 budget without cutting a single job. But officials say that the county's biggest budget problems may just be waiting right around the corner. Letcher Judge Executive Jim Ward said it was a difficult task for the county's fiscal court, balancing the county's budget so it can be submitted to Frankfurt. But he said the budget may not stay balanced for long if coal and mineral severance receipts continue to decline. What we're seeing in the reduction of our coal severance and our mineral severance, I don't know that we can make the projected budget that we have, because the last quarter that come in, if the next three quarters comes in like that, we won't even be able to make the budget we got. Ward said the fiscal court worked throughout the fiscal year, making cuts in areas including the senior citizens program and leasing the recycling center to the city of Weizberg. He said getting the center, which operated at about a $200,000 deficit off the county's books, has been a big savings. Ward also said the county's employees will not receive a pay increase this year. The court also voted to refinance the county's recreation center, which will save nearly $700,000 over the remaining 20-year note for the center. Look at every aspect of it. You have to look at every aspect of it to see where you can save money. Refinancing the rec center will save us roughly $688,000. But Ward said with the declining coal and mineral severance receipts, the budget, which he said is simply a projection of the money the county anticipates it will have, may still come up short. Like I say, I still feel like that we may not be able to make the budget that we just passed. Now by approving the second reading of the budget, the county should meet the June 30th deadline to have the budget submitted to Frankfurt. Reporting in Weizberg for EKB News, I'm Chris Anderson.