Police and fire agencies in Snohomish and Island counties are making hard decisions this fall as budget deadlines loom.

Lynnwood could lose up to a third of its police officers and firefighters. The city already is one of the busiest places for police and fire calls in the state. Monroe police also are facing layoffs.

Other agencies are axing programs and trimming spending to make ends meet. A few are in good shape, but say they could be in hot water next year if the economy doesn’t improve.

All budget numbers still are preliminary and subject to change, which only adds to the uncertainty.

The city of Lynnwood has asked its police department to cut roughly $9 million over the next two years.

On the chopping block so far are 25 commissioned police officer positions, with only five of them unfilled, said Karen Manser, deputy chief. That would trim the 80-officer department by nearly a third and require laying off 20 officers.

The proposed cuts also would eliminate police programs focusing on drug traffickers, crime prevention and animal control, Manser said. All officers would instead be needed just to answer 911 calls.

“Almost every special program we have will go away,” she said.

The Lynnwood Police Guild wants to negotiate with the city to minimize the effect of the cuts, said Officer Mark Brinkman, guild president.

The guild doesn’t want to offer cuts to salaries or benefits without assurance they would directly ease staffing cuts to police, not the citywide budget deficit.

The financial uncertainty has battered morale around the department, Brinkman said. Some officers have started looking for jobs elsewhere.

“It’s terrible,” he said. “The guys are depressed when they come to work.”

The Lynnwood Fire Department also is trying to prevent pink slips from going to 14 firefighters — a third of their department. There are conversations about sharing costs for equipment with adjacent districts such as Mukilteo and Snohomish County Fire District 1, said Greg Macke, assistant fire chief in Lynnwood. However, Lynnwood would have to be careful not to upset the balance of mutual aid among its neighboring agencies, he said.

“We’ve tightened up our belts in many, many areas,” he said.

For example, Lynnwood fire has signed a cheaper contract for medical supplies and just about eliminated training not deemed critical. Like a lot of agencies, it’s squeezing more years out of its vehicles and equipment.

Lynnwood already has five unfilled firefighter positions and three more that went unfunded this year. The budget discussions between the city and the fire department are starting around $4.5 million in cuts.

The firefighters are worried about job security and public safety, as well as the number of responders per call, said Scott DiBenedetto, president of the local union. The department never has had extra people, he said. He is not convinced they could function with that many fewer bodies.

“We are extremely busy. We’re so lean right now,” he said. “I can’t imagine losing any more personnel.”

In Monroe, the city has six layoffs on the table for its police department, including three of 33 commissioned officers. In a city with a fast-growing Hispanic population, the lone Spanish-speaking officer could be out of a job.

The police department plans to submit a budget proposal without the layoffs to the city council next week. The department already has four vacant officer positions that went unfunded this year, Monroe Police Chief Tim Quenzer said.

If the layoffs are ordered, Monroe will have to cut police service, Quenzer said. That would mean slower response times on 911 calls and less attention to property crimes.

The proposed cuts would reduce Monroe’s total police budget by 10 percent, said Cherie Harris, deputy chief. They remain hopeful the layoffs won’t be made.

Island County Sheriff Mark Brown recently lost three deputies who took jobs elsewhere for higher salaries and better benefits.

He can’t blame them. They probably would have been laid off if they stuck around.

Brown is authorized to have 39 deputy positions, but is expecting to lose six under preliminary budget projections. His jail staff could dip to 17 officers, from 20.

“Reduced staffing poses a risk to the officers as well as the public,” Brown said.

Brown said people living in unincorporated parts of Island County can expect longer response times. Officers will have to prioritize calls for help. Detectives following up on burglaries, for instance, might take longer or not respond at all as the department clamps down on overtime. Training will be trimmed. Programs involving volunteers could be eliminated.

“Certainly the job security here is tenuous at best and the cuts certainly have affected morale,” Brown said.

Many of the agencies in good shape, including Everett police and fire departments, credit careful fiscal planning. Others already have made sacrifices such as employees giving up pay raises.

Snohomish County Fire District 3, in Monroe, will lose about $830,000 in revenue because of lagging property taxes this year, Fire Chief Jamie Silva said.

They’ve been making cuts throughout the year, knowing the budget would keep tightening, he said.

“We’re telling everyone to cut their discretionary spending,” he said. “Things we don’t absolutely need, we’re not buying.”

Snohomish County Fire District 1 remains strong, Fire Chief Ed Widdis said. They have been hiring laid-off firefighters from around the state over the past few years. However, if revenue “keeps dropping, we’re going to be in trouble like everybody else,” he said.

For many agencies, it’s just too early to tell. That’s the case for police in Edmonds, Marysville and Snohomish, officials said.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office employees were eagerly awaiting today’s planned release of the County Executive Aaron Reardon’s proposed 2011 budget.

Budget planners within the sheriff’s office have been preparing for hard financial times across the past two years, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.

Final budget deadlines are scattered around October and November. In Lynnwood, final decisions could come as late as December, Manser said.

Reporter Eric Stevick contributed to this report. Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.