County budget constraints have resulted in a plan to eliminate three of five Suffolk Water Resources Unit staff,  jeopardizing water safety testing and state grants, according to a Health Services Department memo obtained by Newsday.

County Legislator Ed Romaine is proposing a shift in sales-tax allocations to cover the water-monitoring jobs.County Legislator Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) is preparing a resolution that would use existing funds from a quarter-percent county sales tax to finance a total of nine jobs in the division through year-end. "We would be blind to the threats to our groundwater. This is a major threat," Romaine said.

Health Services Department Commissioner James Tomarken said his agency would  "ask for occasional support from other county departments when it is needed." He also said the department plans to explore "new ways to leverage state and private resources, for example, charging polluting parties for the expenses encumbered by the county" to offset the impact of layoffs.

The unit would not be able to perform all drilling and sampling required under a state Department of Environmental Conservation pesticide monitoring program, jeopardizing a $150,000 annual grant. Special investigations such as the county's digging and monitoring of 10 wells under compost/mulch piles and former manufactured gas plants could also be affected.

Vanessa Baird-Streeter, a spokeswoman for County Executive Steve Bellone, said,  "We cannot tap into reserves to fund these functions." The jobs must be funded from recurring revenue "since the cost associated will be recurring expenses."