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Commissioners to consider draft budget Monday night
By Derek Hodges
The public will get its first chance to comment to county officials on the proposed 2006-07 budget Monday, May 15.
The 5:30 p.m. session will be held in the commissioners’ board room at the Justice Center. Copies of the budget are available for review in the county manger’s and finance offices.
This year’s total proposed budget of $54,732,289, which was submitted to commissioners by county Manager Ken Westmoreland, is $564,980 less than last year’s. While many budgets go up annually to stay current with inflation and other economic factors, the county’s number has decreased in order to stay in line with projected revenues, Westmoreland said.
Commissioners have expressed a desire to keep the property tax rate at 36 cents per $100 valuation, though the figure is the third lowest in the state. Since the next property revaluation will not be completed until 2008, revenue has virtually stagnated, county leaders said.
To keep county services running with the current tax rate, several departments will face some financial cuts next year, Westmoreland said.
“The budget is balanced with no fee or tax increases,” Westmoreland said when he gave the budget to commissioners April 17. “It is a pretty bare-bones budget. I think it incorporates fully all the priorities this board has given me for the future.”
While the general fund, which pays for day-to-day county operations including the Sheriff’s Office, public schools and county offices, went from $40.5 million in last year’s budget to $40.9 million, several departments have been given less than they hoped for.
The Sheriff’s Office will receive $24,000 less than requested, but at $2.7 million, it will still receive about $130,000 more than last year. Most of that extra money will be used to pay for three additional employees the department requested last year, Westmoreland said in an interview with The Herald.
The school system will see one of the largest discrepancies between request and allotment. While local educators asked for nearly $7.78 million including operating and construction funds, schools are slated to receive $6.96 million.
Differences between the amount a department requests and how much it receives are no reflection on whether county leaders believe the office needs the money, Westmoreland said.
“Everybody always gets less than they asked for, so that’s not unusual,” he said.
Though there has been a decrease in the budget, county leaders expect an increase of about 5 percent in revenue, Westmoreland said. That additional money is a product of growth in the county, he said.
The extra money will be placed in undesignated general funds and used as contingency money, Westmoreland said.
In addition to funding normal programs, the proposed budget concludes a three-year plan to raise county employees’ salaries, Westmoreland said. It also provides for a 2 percent supplement for teacher assistants, he said.
Because three new members will join the board in December, commissioners decided to hold off on plans for long-range construction projects, including a new Health Department and Senior Center, Westmoreland said.
“With a major change in the composition of the Board (of Commissioners) next year, we wanted to hold the line somewhat,” he said.
County officials do not expect much of a fight over the proposed budget, Westmoreland said.
“I feel good about the budget,” he said. “I think it’s very sound.”
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