"We're hearing a lot of moaning from everybody," Corroon said Monday. "I guess that shows the shared-sacrifice model."

The mayor also wants to juggle some of the county's financial reserves, while keeping enough in the bank to maintain the government's sterling triple-A bond rating.

"That's not negotiable," he said.

Corroon declined to give details, but will present his no-tax-increase 2006 budget today. "We're looking over a five-year time span," he added.

"Our goal is not to raise taxes in that time."

For 2006, Corroon says his budget staff doesn't want to dictate what to cut but "we can't continue to spend $74 million more than we take in."

The mayor's office insists that is the amount of operating deficit inherited from the Nancy Workman administration. It has persisted due to a 15 percent spike in health insurance costs, relatively flat property taxes and inflation, according to Chief Administrative Officer Doug Willmore.

Auditor Sean Thomas projects the county's $268 million in fund balances could drop to the $200 million range without jeopardizing the bond rating.

"The $74 million won't go to zero. You don't ever get rid of that," Corroon concedes. But to bring some balance, the mayor says, department heads must "look carefully" at their budgets. After a series of November workshops, the county's official 2006 budget will be presented Dec. 6.

- Derek P. Jensen