TROUTVILLE -- State government's budget knife can leave a nasty wound, no matter how insignificant the slice.

Case in point: Troutville. When Gov. Tim Kaine announced plans last week to close a $1.35 billion budget shortfall, one of his cost-cutting measures was a call to shutter the Botetourt Correctional Center, a prison just outside this tiny town that straddles U.S. 11. Though the closing will help the governor bridge the budget chasm, it spells serious trouble for Troutville (population 434) because the town annually receives tens of thousands of dollars in revenue from the prison, known locally as Camp 25.

With total annual revenues of less than $345,000, the town could require some form of its own belt-tightening as it figures out exactly how much it will lose from the prison's closure.

"It'll be a big hit," Mayor William Rader said.

Town Councilman C.J. Boothe said the drop in revenue will not require a tax increase. He added: "I hope not."

The biggest loss will be the roughly $30,000 the state Department of Corrections annually pays Troutville to supply water to the prison, Rader said. The money represents about 15 percent of the town's water revenues.

Another hit will come from the disappearance of the approximately 120 prison guards and administrators, many of whom shop at the local Thriftway, buy gas at the town's Texaco station and occasionally eat at its lone eatery, the Pomegranate Restaurant.

The loss of the 120 prison employees means losing a $6.2 million annual payroll, according to a spokeswoman for the state prison department.

"This kind of hit us all by surprise," Pomegranate owner Diana Dixon said. "It'll have an impact."

The prison, in Botetourt County, has been a neighbor of Troutville's since 1960 and has an average daily inmate population of 336. Townsfolk are accustomed to seeing prisoners around town.

For years, inmate work crews have mowed the grass at the local park, swept the sidewalks, mopped and waxed the floors of town hall, shoveled snow in the winter and done various odd jobs when asked. (For instance, inmates recently put a roof on a utility shed at the park.) The town clerk said the crews have worked for free, though the town occasionally buys them lunch.

Rader said the town might now have to pay for maintenance, "and that's going to be several thousand dollars more a year."

The Department of Corrections spokeswoman said the agency hopes to have the prison empty and out of business by Nov. 10.

That's when Troutville will start feeling the pain.