SUNBURY — Northumberland County is headed toward an $800,000 deficit if it doesn’t get its finances in order now, Commissioner Vinny Clausi warned Tuesday.

Saying the county must hire a budget director to oversee spending, Clausi, a Democrat, urged his fellow board members to begin the search in earnest.

The board had already approved a motion to hire a full-time budget director following the March resignation of budget analyst Leslie Conrad, but no progress on the hiring had been made.

On Monday, Commissioner Frank Sawicki, a Democrat and the board chairman, expressed concern that the county doesn’t have the money to pay an experienced budget director.

Clausi and Commissioner Kurt Masser, a Republican, disagreed and said a qualified financial manager to oversee the county’s $85 million budget, monitor spending and work with department heads is needed now more than ever.

Of the 64 county departments, Clausi said, 20 have overspent their yearly allotted budgets.

“At this pace, if we continue the way we’re going, we’ll be in a deficit of $800,000 by the end of the year,” Clausi predicted.

Controller Charles “Chuck” Erdman Jr., a Republican, nodded and said, “That’s very possible.”

Clausi said school superintendents who are in charge of $24 million budgets are paid about $100,000 compared to the $60,000 or so the county might have to shell out for someone to oversee its $85 million spending plan.

“We can’t sit on it,” he said.

All three commissioners agreed, again, to establish the position and fill it.

In other business, Scott Dunn was hired to replace elections director Don Reiner, who is resigning effective Friday to take a job outside the county.