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County wraps up budget
On Thursday morning the Vernon County Commission and County Clerk Tammi Beach sat down to their final day of work on the 2011 county budget.
For the third year in a row it has been difficult to get declining revenues and increasing costs to balance while keeping the county offices and programs running efficiently and productively.
But the process worked, and part of the reason it has worked is because of the cooperation of the several entities that make up the county government and services. Presiding Commissioner Bonnie McCord said that many counties have an auditor or a clerk and/or accountants do their yearly budgets. She said that Vernon County is a little different in that it meets with office holders and goes over each line item of the budget. "We're very lucky that office holders work together," she said. And the commission has "not been disappointed" by how the county's money has been spent by the various departments, she added.
During Thursday's work session, McCord said that the budget was "in positive territory" but there was still work to do. Every office has sacrificed to make the budget work this year, but "we're not comfortable with it yet," said McCord, We've got to make some hard choices today." All three commissioners agreed that after cutting the budget for the past two years there are few items that can be trimmed.
The numerous requests for purchasing new office equipment has been one area where some spending requests were trimmed. The Sheriff's Office, for instance, is only going to get about half of the new technology requested and the same goes for the request of the Circuit Court Clerk's Office. The Sheriff's Office is also going to have to make due with the cars they have instead of purchasing three new cruisers as hoped for. There will be some new office equipment purchased, but those purchases will be made on a rotating basis and will be scaled back from the original requests.
While many organizations and governments are reducing manpower numbers as a way of saving money, the commission has no plans to lay off or get rid of any county employees. "The ones that have quit, we probably won't fill those positions," said Southern Commissioner Kennon Shaw, "but we're not going to cut back." County employees will continue to get the step increases and benefits they are entitled to, but there won't be any raises this year.
An increase in sales tax helped the budget this year, but it was not enough to make up for the shortfall created by the loss of estimated revenues from the new jail. Projected revenues for the year were not realized said Northern Commissioner Neal Gerster, because we "based revenue on jail estimates from the sheriff. This year we have real numbers" to work with, Gerster said. There is "still some speculation on the jail" but commissioners must rely on solid numbers, said Gerster.
Other revenues also are uncertain. "We're not projecting that it's going to be more," said Gerster. So the commission has split the difference between last year's real and this year's projected revenues. "We're trying to be conservative," said McCord. "We can amend the budget to allow more revenue" but we can't cut the spending outlined in the final budget, she said.
That final budget is open to public inspection beginning today. Now through Wednesday, Jan. 26, the public can view and comment on the budget in the commission's office on the second floor of the courthouse on weekdays, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
A final public hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on Jan. 26, after which any noted mistakes will be corrected, the approved budget will be signed and a copy sent to the state.