County departments asked to tighten belts
Staff writer
With budget austerity staring bleakly at them, Marion County Commissioners Friday asked all county department heads to bite the bullet and refigure their budgets for the current calendar and fiscal year, 2003.
Commissioners asked all department heads to submit hypothetical budgets including 3 percent, 6 percent, and 10 percent reductions in expenditures.
The budget shortfall this year is going to be $336,325, commissioners said. A 6 percent reduction in spending, across the board, would cut spending by $365,386, according to figures compiled for commissioners by County Clerk Carol Maggard.
Commission Chairman Howard Collett said, "The state has taken away 7 percent of our budget. We're all in the same boat and there's a hole in it
The county budgetary shortfall was $50,000 last year, Collett said.
A four-mill tax increase would be needed just to stand still, to stay the same, budget-wise, he said.
"It's 'a little problem.' We have to tighten our belts. We need input from you," he told department heads.
Commissioner Leroy Wetta said, "We don't want to increase the mill levy. That's the last thing we want to do."
He added that the board of commissioners really didn't want to make an across-the-board cut, either. "But we need your input on your programs," he said.
If the hospital, the city, and the school district increase their portion of the total property tax levy, the county and its employees will get the brunt of the blame, Wetta said.
Because the county treasurer is the one who sends out the tax statements, the county becomes the whipping boy for this.
"We're behind on sales-tax revenue, too, this year," Wetta noted.
Earlier in Friday's end of month "payday" meeting, Maggard told commissioners that sales tax revenues flowing back from Topeka to the county were down about $4,701 for March 2003 as compared to March 2002 — from $40,966.05 to $36,265.06.
Wetta said health insurance Costs went up about 15 percent, and Commissioner Bob Hein said liability insurance premiums paid by the county were up by about $15,000, also.
The State of Kansas is not likely to recover, fiscally, for a long time, commissioners believe.
County Attorney Susan Robson said it was "unrealistic to think we can cut back" on funding and taxes every year and not cut services.
"We can't absorb $300,000 less in the budget every year," she said. "It's unrealistic to think we won't have to raise the mill levy sometime," she added.
Wetta asked, "Are we doing some things that are not required?" He was again referring to "wants vs. needs."
The commissioner felt that discretionary, "extra" spending, if there is any, would have to be curtailed: Spending on items that are "nice," but not critical.
"We all need to prioritize," Wetta said.
Collett said any capital outlay expenditure that can be delayed should not be implemented this year.
Dale Snelling, park and lake director, said the seriousness of the county's financial situation needed to be coordinated and communicated with urgency to county citizens.
They must realize "this is how it is, or else we raise taxes to avoid a $300,000 budget cut."
Collett said, "There'll have to be a tax hike," but did not say when he felt it would come.
"We don't know the (county's) valuation yet," he said.
The 2003 valuation of all properties in the county is not yet completed, or has not been revealed. All property taxes will be based on it.
Wetta said he wanted to see "what the demand is first," for services. He said he wanted to see "what a hold-the-line budget would be, from each department, and then how they could reduce it by 3, 6, or 10 percent."
What's absolutely essential, what can be deleted, what can be given up, are important considerations, Wetta said.
Sheriff Lee Becker said he could perhaps save the county some funds by emptying his (department's) own trash, and/or by turning off the air conditioning part of the time.
Commissioners did not think turning off the A.C. was a good idea.
Wetta said, "Yes, that sort of thing."
Jan Helmer said her department, the district court, had no discretion, no wiggle room, in paying attorneys' fees and jury fees. They must be paid.
If her funding were cut by a certain amount, she might have to come back to commissioners and tell them they had to give it back.
Wetta said, "It has to come out of somewhere, before we look at the alternatives."
Robson said no county departments were having parties or living it up to excess. She, like many others, blamed the Kansas Legislature.
"They make themselves look good, passing the financial problems on to the cities, counties, and schools." Saying she was venting, she added that the legislators didn't do and aren't doing their jobs.
In planning for July 2003 county budget hearings, Sheriff Becker said capital outlay would be "the easiest to go, to take away."
County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman said the capital outlay items could be delayed a while, but eventually purchase of the items would have to be made.
Self-insurance by the county was discussed briefly. "It's risky," Wetta said. "Especially in the first year."
Hein said, "I think we can work this out," referring to the big picture, the budgetary crisis.
Wetta said, "We need a 5 to 6 percent reduction" in budgets.
County Appraiser Dianna Carter asked about raises. Collett said 48 percent of county expenditures go to employee salaries and benefits.
Collett said chances for raises were pretty slim. There can be no merit pay raises this year, he added. However, he said a 1.2 percent COLA (cost of living adjustment) should be factored into department budgets.
Wetta said the county has a social obligation to provide protection (health insurance, etc.) for its employees.
Hein asked the assembled department heads to prepare one budget with 2 percent raises for all, and another without the raises.
Wetta said the cuts needed to be universal, across the board, "so there's no appearance of favoritism."
Snelling said he gets a lot of his budget revenue from sale of permits. Wetta said, "Let's look at user fees, then, too."
"The public needs services," said Helmer. "We have to offer the needed services. The public pays our salary."
Commissioners spent about 25 minutes in two executive sessions, evaluating two department heads. The remainder of the evaluations will be done Monday afternoon, in closed sessions, after the regular morning meeting, starting at 9 a.m.
The month's-end payday total for May was $643,367.56.
