Nearly every Fresno County department has taken its fair share of cuts this year. And this week it was the Board of Supervisors' turn.

Supervisors agreed to cut their travel expenses by $5,400. But they won't stop traveling.

Two supervisors will attend the week-long annual California State Association of Counties' meeting in San Diego. And Supervisor Susan Anderson will fly to Washington D.C. in February with a delegation of Fresno County leaders to lobby for more federal money for county projects.

Employee union leaders criticized the supervisors for not cutting back travel even further.

"You've got county employees out there who got pink slips, they're losing their jobs and here you are talking about traveling to San Diego and Washington D.C.," said Gene Garcia of SEIU Local 521. "We're in a budget crisis. You've got to set the tone."

But supervisors said they are making concessions. Supervisor Judy Case said she and Supervisor Phil Larson are traveling on their own dime to the San Joaquin Valley Supervisors Association' meeting in Merced County.

Supervisors also said that they had budgeted for two separate lobbying trips to Washington D.C. Now, they will go only once.

The Washington D.C. trip also brings in money to the county, supervisors said. More than $60 million in federal money has come back to the county as a result of past lobbying trips.

"Going to Washington to try and bring back more money to the county is a very good use of our funds," Supervisor Susan Anderson said.

-- Kerri Ginis