Here’s a news flash that won’t surprise anyone: Several county offices or portions of those offices will run out of money long before the year is over unless things change.

Each year taxpayers hear the same thing over and over again. The county’s payroll is more than what is budgeted and a variety of officeholders refuse to live within the money allocated to them.

And of course, some officeholders will “find” money to delay the inevitable and keep from making the hard choices. Or the county commissioners will do the same thing and bail out the offices.

Now is the time for taxpayers — and voters — to make their voices heard when it comes to praising those who have made changes and taking others to task.

Among those who aren’t projected to run out of funds are the recorder’s office and the auditor’s office. Sharon Gossett Hager and Ray Dutey should be commended for making the needed changes to stay within their budgets.

What offices are projected to run out of funds? The usual suspects. The prosecutor’s office and the board of elections are at the top of the list.

What will it take for these officeholders to wake up and realize they must do something? If this most recent reality check doesn’t do it, voters should wake these officeholders at the polls.

The time for excuses has passed. The time for finger pointing has passed. The offices that are projecting to have salary shortfalls must look inward, taking care of their own problems rather than looking at others.

The answer is really very simple: You are spending too much on salaries, then cut staff.

We don’t want to hear excuses about being overworked or shorthanded.

Every business — and basically every household — in America faces these challenges each and every day, yet we find a way to overcome this. We should expect the same from our elected leaders.