Camden County, NJ sent out 261 layoff notices on Friday to county staffers across all departments. The layoffs will take effect on April 4.

Additionally, the county has instated 22 furlough days that are set to begin during March. They will occur every other Friday until the end of the year.

“The economy has devastated our revenue and that, along with increased expenses from the state as well as increased costs in everything from electricity to benefits, have combined to give us the biggest budget gap we’ve ever had in the history of the county,” read a statement prepared by Freeholder-Director Louis Cappelli Jr.

According to Cappelli Jr., the county began 2011 with a $41 million budget gap. The county were only able to raise $17 million of that through increased taxes because of a cap on property taxes.

One division that was hit hard was the Division of Senior and Disabled Citizen’s Services. 22 employees from that division out of the total 36, so more than half, were laid off.

Still more layoffs are to come as there have already been plans to layoff 25% of the 230 employees working at the county prosecutor’s office. Those notices will go out today.