No pay increases this year. No new ambulance. Budgets cut to the bone. That?s the story of the 2003 Grundy County budget, which was to be approved today by county commissioners.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
No pay increases this year. No new ambulance. Budgets cut to the bone. That?s the story of the 2003 Grundy County budget, which was to be approved today by county commissioners.
The budget shows overall revenues of $2,994,735, with total expenditures of $3,1609,937.61 leaving an overall fund balance at the end of 2003 of $738,140.90. General Revenue is where the real problems are, with total anticipated revenues of $1,138,766 and total expected expenditures of $1,399,573.99, leaving a negative ending balance of minus $48,559.45. While looking at the budget this afternoon, commissioners found that $46,754 had been included on the revenue side but not on the expenditure side of the general revenue budget. The amount represents the grant for the juvenile office mentoring program, which is ?in-and-out? money.
Commissioners met with county employees and department heads Monday afternoon, where they announced that no salary increases were appropriated for this year. In addition, elected officials who were to receive increases based on action by the salary commission, will also not receive raises, a decision that drew the ire of some officials.
Grundy County Sheriff Greg Coon and County Prosecutor Chris Raynes indicated that, in effect, the county was ?cutting? not ?freezing? their salaries because the salary commission had already approved their raises. Commissioners have indicated that they feel the only officials who are legally entitled to pay increases are Presiding Commissioner Kenny Roberts, County Clerk Kristi Urich and Raynes. Raises for other officials, they said, would be mid-term increases, which are not allowed under law unless additional duties are given to the officeholder.
Regardless of who was actually entitled to increases, the commission said they did not appropriate the raises for any officeholders because they could not in good conscience do so when they weren?t going to give other county employees salary increases. Based on the salary schedule used by the county, employees would have received raises of 2 percent, with the possibility of receiving merit increases above that amount. Raises for all officeholders would have totaled $14,000 and raises for county employees would have totaled $15,000.
Employee benefits were also discussed, with commissioners indicating they will have to take a look at insurance premiums this summer and may have to ask the employees to chip in a larger portion of the premium.
When asked this morning why they hadn?t saved themselves a lot of grief and given the raises, commissioners were adamant in their answer.
?Because we couldn?t afford it,? Roberts said. ?How can we keep appropriating increases if we?re ever going to improve our bottom line? We don?t have the money.?
Associate Commissioners Gene Wyant and H.L. ?Bud? Cox agreed, with Cox noting that this has been the toughest budget he has worked on. Wyant said employees need to understand that the commission does feel for the employees and while they are not happy with the situation, they do not have a choice this year.
The commission noted that they had cut a total of $325,379, including the salaries, from the budget requests given to them at the start of the budget planning process. Of that amount, $142,292 came from the Road and Bridge Department, including a new trackhoe, with another $101,738 coming from the ambulance department, where a new ambulance and an additional third crew were taken out of the budget. A total of $17,000 was slashed from University Extension and an identical amount was cut from the Grundy County Sheriff?s Department. A total of $10,000 was cut from the county clerk?s requests, with another $4,441 cut from the treasurer?s requests for her office. From the assessor?s office, $3,908 was not approved.
What did get approved this year were funds for one sheriff?s car to replace the one recently totaled in a wreck. Of the estimated $17,000 price tag for the car, $12,000 will come from the insurance settlement in the accident. The total expenditures in the sheriff?s department budget are $217,930, with another $134,391 budgeted for operation of the jail. That amount is actually a stab in the dark due to the unknown cost of housing prisoners in other counties this year. A car that is being retired from the sheriff?s department will be used as a county car, although it is not known exactly how it will be designated.
Four offices are going together this year to purchase a computer system that will help make the entire assessment and tax system more efficient. DoveNet, as the system is known, will be funded through the budgets of the county clerk, treasurer, assessor and circuit clerk and recorder. While the county clerk, treasurer and assessor offices had each budgeted $6,000 for a server and their portion of DoveNet, that amount has been dwindled to about $2,800 per office since the circuit clerk and recorder?s office has offered to chip in and use some technology funding to help pay for the system A computer will be placed in the treasurer?s office for use by township collectors and county residents to access public tax information through the system. In addition to the computer to be placed in the treasurer?s office, three computers will be purchased for the county clerk?s office and two will be purchased for the assessor?s office.
While the commission did cut the new ambulance and a proposed third crew from the budget, a new billing program was approved for the ambulance service at a cost of $12,500. During Monday?s meeting it was noted that Ambulance Director Carolyn Fink had said the program was necessary to avoid having to hire someone to help with the billing. Currently, Mrs. Fink does the billing, which has resulted in the department?s best collection year ever. While the decision to purchase the software rather than hire a person to do the job was questioned, commissioners said this morning that the program is a one-time expense, while hiring someone would be an on-going cost to the county.
The ambulance service itself was a topic during the employee meeting, where it was noted that Grundy County is the only county in Missouri that supports an ambulance department. Grundy County?s ambulance department is funded through a one-half cent sales tax and collections, a situation that has allowed the department to be self-supporting. In 2003, it is anticipated that the ambulance department will bring in a total of $743,000 (including $420,000 in sales tax revenue), with expenditures totaling $673,262, leaving a fund balance, when added to this year?s carry-over, of $341,104.
In some years past, commissioners have exercised their ability to transfer funds from the ambulance department to General Revenue to help other areas of county operations, an option that was recommended to the commission by the Ambulance Advisory Board when the tax passed in 1992. Under than plan, it was expected that a reserve fund of about 15 percent would be created and if collections increased beyond budget needs, the excess would be placed in General Revenue for other purposes, in essence, subsidizing the county?s General Revenue Fund.
While Roberts said a transfer of funds from the Ambulance Department to General Revenue has not taken place since he has been in office but, if the situation warrants it, a transfer could take place at the end of the year.
Commissioners said that while the county has a fund balance of over $700,000 including the ambulance reserve, most of that money is designated and cannot be used for General Revenue purposes. In fact, only the ambulance money can be transferred. If money is taken from Road and Bridge funds, for example, it has to be repaid.
The only capital improvement included in the budget is $64,000 to pay for the elevator, with the county receiving over $220,000 for the project. This money was also budgeted for last year, but only $11,000 was spent by the end of the year.
Roberts said that he looked back at budgets as far as 1989 and all were approved as deficit budgets, although not all of the budgets ended up as deficits at the end of the year. While it is hopeful that this year?s expenditures will be less than anticipated and revenues will be more, only a miracle would keep the budget from being deficit at the end of 2003.
In addressing how to change the situation, commissioners said they do not know how to increase revenue at this point and feel that all offices have done everything they can to hold the line on costs. It was noted that the economic downturn has affected all levels of government and it should be noted that state employees working at the courthouse have not had raises for at least the past three years. Keeping sales tax in the county and addressing Internet sales, which are not taxed, would help county revenue. In addition, it was noted that the commission may have to set the tax levy at the maximum of 15 cents this summer, although that increase would generate less than $80,000 in additional revenue.
As for next year, the commission said they fear the 2004 budget will be even more dismal than this year. In that case, they said they would have to start looking at cutting personnel.
?We hope it doesn?t come to that,? Roberts said. ?But at that point, I don?t know that we would have a choice.?