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RALEIGH — Legislative budget writers want to shut down the Greensboro crime lab less than a year after it opened, sparking an outcry from law enforcement officials who say it should not be sacrificed.

The planned trim is among hundreds of cuts lawmakers are looking at across the budget, from the mental health system to the public schools to public safety programs.

North Carolina faces what amounts to a $4 billion gap in its annual budget that must be bridged when the new fiscal year begins July 1. Each cut seemingly sparks an outcry from whichever agencies or group of private citizens stands to lose.

“I wonder if people understand we really don’t have the money,” said Rep. Alma Adams , a Greensboro Democrat and lead budget writer in the House. She said that those deluging lawmakers with pleas not to cut one program or another don’t seem to understand that virtually no part of the state budget will be unscathed this year.

Defenders of the SBI’s Triad Regional Crime Laboratory, on West Meadowview Road, acknowledge the tough budget situation but said closing it would cost more in the long run than would be saved.

“I don’t think you’re going to find a police agency in the area that hasn’t used that lab,” said Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes. Closing it, he said, would “have a very negative impact on law enforcement in this area.”

The lab, Barnes said, not only takes on work that would otherwise have to be done in Raleigh but also saves local departments travel time. If getting a particular result is urgent, Barnes said, officers can wait for evidence to be processed on site rather than having to drive back and forth twice.

“That has value you just can’t imagine or put a price on,” he said.

But Rep. Alice Bordsen , a Mebane Democrat who oversees the public safety portion of the budget, said the lab was not yet processing as much evidence as had been anticipated.

In normal budget times, she said, the lab would likely be given another year or two to get up to speed. But with dollars in short supply, she said, budget writers simply can’t wait.

The space of the lab is rented, Bordsen said, which makes closing it more cost-effective than if the state owned the space. The workers and equipment there could be moved to other state labs.

That idea angers local officials such as Barnes, who used federal forfeiture money — local money given to counties and cities by the federal government — to help equip the lab. And lab backers have support from Attorney General Roy Cooper , who says the lab has helped cut down a statewide backlog in processing evidence.

“The Triad lab is a critical resource to the 12 counties it serves and the entire state by giving local law enforcement nearby access to SBI experts who can analyze drugs, computers, fingerprints and other evidence of crimes,” said Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman for Cooper. “The Triad lab reduces the number of submissions to the Raleigh Crime Lab, allowing evidence to be analyzed more efficiently, which results in more crimes being solved.”

Senators also considered cutting the lab’s funding when writing their version of the budget this year, but Sen. Stan Bingham , a Denton Republican, helped head off that move. Bordsen said that the House, which is expected to finish writing its budget in the next two weeks, almost certainly will make the trim.

After the House writes its version of the budget, Gov. Bev Perdue and House and Senate leaders will negotiate a final version. The lab’s fate — along with funding for hundreds of other programs — likely will be decided in that final conference committee.

“This is not where we need to be cutting,” said Rep. Laura Wiley , a High Point Republican. Although she has been critical of state budgets that have spent too much in the past, Wiley said local law enforcement agencies should not have to return to the days when it took six months to process evidence.

“Public safety, along with education and helping those who can’t help themselves, is where we need to invest,” Wiley said.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com