The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners voted 8-0 Wednesday night on a consolidation plan creating a new Office of Community and Economic Development.

The merger of three offices — Community Development, Economic Development and Energy, and Employment Training and Community Services — is expected to save nearly $1.2 million, including $517,817 in direct savings to the county's general fund budget.

The number of full-time employees working in those areas will drop from about 40 to 32, a net reduction of eight county jobs.

The reorganization requires a number of position modifications. In all, there will be 11 positions eliminated, three new positions created, 20 job reclassifications and five title changes.

Mary Jo Callan, current director of the Office of Community Development, will lead the new office once the consolidation takes effect Jan. 1.

Callan said she doesn't anticipate any drop in service levels. According to the business plan, the new office will focus on three main areas: human services, housing and community infrastructure, and economic and workforce development.

"Obviously, at this point, everything's laced with a bit of hope," Callan said. "We think it's an approach to developing community in a larger sense that makes sense. What it means for Washtenaw County government, I think, is that we increase our ability to be understood by the community and to be relevant as sort of a helpful government."

The office is expected to operate on a $16 million budget in 2012 — down from the $18.6 million for those program areas in the county's 2011 budget. About $11.8 million of that is expected to come from federal sources, with another $374,667 coming from the state.

"If anyone's been paying attention, they see that, at the federal level, things are very uncertain," Callan said. "So if there are any service cuts, it will not be a result of the consolidation. In fact, what we've been able to do with cuts we've already taken is preserve services by consolidating and really streamlining our efforts. But I can't say that in a year from now, if we have another $2 million less, that we're going to be able to do everything we do today."

Commissioners also voted 8-0 on Wednesday to approve mid-year budget adjustments to bring the county's general fund budget in line with new projections. That includes increasing revenues related to liquor taxes, sheriff services and court costs, as well as increasing expenses for attorney fees, banking fees and transfers out.

The original general fund budget for the 2011 calendar year totaled $98.7 million. That was adjusted upward to $100.2 million.

County officials said property tax revenues are expected to come in about $3.5 million higher than initially projected — now $62.7 million instead of $59.2 million. That's still down about $2 million from last year's actual tax revenue amount of $64.7 million.

The county now expects to take $2.9 million from its fund balance during 2011, down from the $5.3 million it originally was planning to use this year.

Tina Gavalier, the county's financial analyst, reminded commissioners that without that transfer they would be looking at a projected $2.5 million deficit for the year.

Gavalier said the administration's recommended budget for 2012-2013 is expected to be presented to commissioners for review next month.

• Download the budget adjustments document
• Download the second quarter budget outlook for 2011

Commissioners also voted 8-0 to approve the county's involvement in the new Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office Community Alliance.

The county is entering into an interlocal agreement under the Urban Cooperation Act with several Southeast Michigan municipalities to form the alliance.

The alliance includes communities like Roseville, Lathrup Village, Lincoln Park, Sterling Heights and South Lyon. The goal, officials say, is to further regional energy efficiency efforts.

"In a nutshell, that alliance with other cities helps form a coalition so that we can leverage more grant money," said County Administrator Verna McDaniel. "It's more favorable if we're more regional, and this is really stepping across boundaries to do that. Hopefully we'll bring more money into the county for energy efficiency in our buildings and it should help us out."

The alliance will have the power to enter into contracts, acquire property, incur debt and receive grants, according to a county staff memo.

The formation of the alliance is an extension of the county's involvement with the Regional Energy Office, which has 17 local government members. The county board voted in March 2010 to authorize the county's membership for $76,690.

That came from a pool of $766,900 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant dollars the county received from the U.S. Department of Energy. County officials said last year the money was being spent through September 2012 on a wide range of energy efficiency projects throughout the county, including the creation of the Regional Energy Office.

Commissioners Conan Smith, Kristin Judge and Rolland Sizemore Jr. were absent from Wednesday's meeting.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.