As state and local governments consider budget cuts in 2009, they need to keep in mind how the recession will affect their constituents.

The demands on government change in hard economic times. Some expenditures can drop with little trauma, but others must increase.

The city of Decatur’s proposed cut in funding for the Community Free Clinic of Decatur-Morgan County is a disastrous idea. The clinic is an important safety net for those who lose jobs, and every indication is that jobless rates will increase in 2009.

Cuts in the clinic also hurt Decatur General Hospital by increasing the number of uninsured patients it must see. Now is not the time to create more problems for the financially crippled institution.

Proposed cuts in funding for American Red Cross, North Alabama Meals on Wheels, Volunteer Center of Morgan County and other entities whose mission includes caring for the poor are likewise ill advised. The token amounts the city would save have huge ramifications on the ability of the agencies to care for local residents.

These agencies need more money, not less, to cope with the recession and the increased demand it brings. Local governments also should consider direct funding of homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other not-for-profit entities that help the poor.

Larger cuts, however, are appropriate for other agencies. Economic development will sputter during the recession no matter how well it is funded; it should be bare bones to increase the money available for needs that are more urgent.

Local governments should look hard at TVA in-lieu-of-tax money, earmarked for an industrial park near Hartselle. The project is at a standstill now because of a difficult bond market. It might be wise to leave it at a standstill for a few months, applying the TVA money to services that those who lose jobs will need.

Funding for the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to market Morgan County to incoming Redstone Arsenal personnel also deserves attention. No amount of marketing in North Alabama helps military workers sell their homes in northern Virginia, and that is proving to be the major impediment in recruiting employees in the Base Realignment and Closure process.

Cuts may be possible in various city and county departments — building and planning, for example — that have reduced workloads when the economy is struggling.

At the state level, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ proposal to divert a larger share of community development grant funds to cover increased agency overhead is poorly timed. ADECA should be trying to get more federal funding to communities, not less.

Across-the-board cuts sometimes make sense when normal economic fluctuations affect government revenue. The revenue shortfall state and local governments now face, however, is far from normal. It reflects an ailing economy that is causing severe pain for the poorest residents, and that pain will increase.

Dramatic budget cuts are feasible during a recession. Services targeting those most affected by the economic downturn need more funding, though, not less.