County dept. heads anxiously await final budget numbers
By Ashlee Monroe
December 1, 2008
With the Athens County Budget Commission projecting the county budget to shrink 9 percent in 2009, the county commissioners are telling department heads to prepare to cut their budgets by as much as 15 percent.
“You have a 9 percent decrease in revenue, but there will be some expenses that go into account, so you can’t expect to just apply the 9 percent decrease and balance your budget,” advised Commissioner Lenny Eliason.
The commissioner said it will not be clear what the budget will look like in 2009 until the Athens County Budget Commission meets on Dec. 17.
“We are just planning right now,” Eliason said.
The commissioners have been telling county officials to prepare to cut their budgets in “worst-case scenarios” as they meet with them in budget hearings at commissioners meetings. The commissioners gave Clerk of Courts Ann Trout the news at its meeting Tuesday. While she’s keeping the 15 percent figure in mind, she said she’s waiting for the finalized budget before deciding what needs to be cut.
“I have thought about it, yes,” Trout said. “But I’m not making any decisions until we get the final numbers in. It could improve between now and the end of the year.”
Trout has some tough choices ahead, as she explained that the Clerk of Courts office can cut very little of its supply budget.
“It costs a lot to make the Clerk of Courts office function as far as paperwork,” Trout said. “I can’t cut journal books. I have to have journal books, paper and journal book paper. With that, it comes down to employee cuts.”
Trout also said the Clerk of Courts office is feeling the crunch of the nose-diving economy in other ways. The state Legislature has not authorized raises in her office for four years.
“We already know that as far as the Clerk of Courts office goes, there will be no raises,” Trout said.
She also manages the budget for the Athens County Title Office. The Title Office is not subject to the 15 percent cut because it does not get its money from the county’s general fund. But Trout said she is concerned about the Title Office budget anyway because of the current economic situation.
“The Title Fee has not gone up since 1992,” Trout said. “It gets harder every year to pay all the insurance, rent and utility costs with 1992 fees.” She said that as the economy has worsened recently, the office is taking in less money at that obsolete rate.
HOPING FOR THE BEST while preparing for the worst seems to be the theme among county offices as they await the final 2009 budget. But it’s no secret that no matter what the final figures are, money is going to be tight in the county in the coming year.
“I knew it was going to be a tight budget year before we started thinking about the budget, just because of the economy,” said Athens County Recorder Jessica Markins. “I haven’t made any rash decisions. I’m going to let [the county commissioners] tell me what we’re up against budget-wise, and then we’ll go from there.”
Markins said her office has never had an inflated budget, so figuring out where to cut money for the coming year will be difficult.
“We’ll do the best we can,” said Markins. She is waiting for her budget hearing with the county commissioners, like many other county offices including the Auditor’s Office.
Dave Owen from the Athens County Auditor’s Office said that he also knew it was going to be a tough year because of the larger economic situation, but that he is waiting until his office sees its final figures before making any decisions.
“If they ask us to cut, we’ll have to take a look at our budget and see the places where that’s possible,” Owen said.
While final numbers won’t be in from the Athens County Budget Commission until mid-December, the forecast does not look good for county office budgets. As The Athens NEWS reported last week, Deputy Auditor Alan Ferguson told the commission that the county is probably gearing up for a 9 percent drop from last year in the budget amount it certifies to start the year. The problem appears to be the year-over-year carryover amount, which has dropped 54 percent since last year. The county is projected to start 2009 with a carryover of $1.13 million, compared to the $2.46 million it started with last year.
The county commissioners are not only advising county offices to tighten their belts. Also on Tuesday, the commissioners gave the County Engineer’s Office a formal 90-day notice for termination of its GIS contract. But like most other budgetary decisions looming, this one, too, is not permanent.
“This is just a formality,” Eliason said during Tuesday’s meeting. “We’ll have a final decision in mid-December."
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