Last week, the Kitsap County commissioners had to make a recommendation no one likes. Because of the precarious financial situation the county is in — no thanks to the local and national economy — some tough cuts have to be made at the county level.

It was looking like one of those tough cuts would have called for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office to have to trim its budget by 6 percent: that would be the equivalent of a tad more than $1 million, meaning 11 deputies would have been taken off the streets.

At last week’s county commission meeting, the commissioners made a decision that might not be fair to the other departments, but it’s certainly right by public safety. No sheriff’s deputies will lose their jobs, at least for a few months, but other departments must still cut their budgets by 6 percent.

Scott Wilson, the sheriff’s office spokesperson, said the KCSO is already one of the lowest staffed law enforcement offices in the state. A 6 percent cut, he said, would have been detrimental to public safety.

We agree.

While the cuts may still be on the horizon, this reprieve does give KCSO time to apply for grants and cross its figurative fingers hoping federal dollars will kick in to save deputies.

“If the grants don’t come in or they don’t come in in the amounts we’d like, we may have to make some cuts,” Wilson said. “Right now, we’re on hold.”

For now, we’re just glad to see sheriff’s deputies get a reprieve.

We, too, will cross our fingers for grant money and federal funds to be awarded.