BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — After a reality check from Clerk Denny Thompson earlier this month, Bradford County commissioners are ready begin budget workshops for the next fiscal year.
They want the process to be an informed and educational one, for themselves and the public.
After hearing from Thompson and meeting with the finance department, Commissioner Diane Andrews said she was shocked.
“I had to come to a realization that even though this has been going on for a while, it’s up to us to try to stop it and correct the problem,” she said, during a meeting on Feb. 17.
Her solution found no favor, however. Noting the difficulty of the task and saying that none of the commissioners are accountants, Andrews wanted the clerk’s office to build a budget for them based on how much they have to spend.
She supported having budget workshops in which to “train” the commissioners, but she wanted to leave the heavy lifting to the “professionals,” she said.
“I think that we will be much better off with letting the clerk and you guys (finance) clean this up. Bring to us a budget that we can, we can live by.”
Andrews said it’s likely the board would insist on changes, but she said it would make for a much better start.
“I want you to have the workshops, but I think we can only take in so much. And I think that in order for us to do this, this is about the only way that we’re going to be able to. So, I’d like to make a motion, that we allow that to be done, that the clerk bring us a budget that we can live in,” she said.
Seeking clarification, Deputy Clerk Rachel Rhoden said, “Are you asking the clerk to prepare the budget for each of the departments as well? Because I would have to say that has got to come from you all, as far as what you want to see those departments, how you want to see those operate.”
Rhoden said they are striving to do an even better job of helping the commission understand how much revenue it has and where it is coming from. It is not up to the clerk or finance department to tell the board how to spend it.
“I think the clerk can help tell us what we can afford,” attorney Will Sexton told commissioners. “It’s going to be incumbent upon the board once you find out what that is to prioritize what you want to spend.”
Commission Chairman Chris Dougherty said a simple approach might be to start with those priorities, beginning with public safety (law enforcement and fire rescue) and then roads. Other services may not make the cut.
He agreed with Andrews they need all the information they can received from finance.
“I think that if we all just work together, and work hard, that we can make it this year,” Andrews said.
But the board needs to be more disciplined as well, Dougherty said, offering a couple of examples, including giving pay raises, approving a grant application for new fire rescue employees that will increase personnel and operational costs, and the purchase of road paving equipment.
Commissioner Danny Riddick defended the last example, saying the road paving machine was “an excellent purchase,” using accumulated gas tax revenue that can only be spent on road improvement. Doing the work in house will save money and allow the county to resurface many of the roads they receive complaints about, he said. Public Works Director Jason Dodds emphasized they were talking about spending gas tax revenue, not raising the cost of the road department budget.
Sexton said an advantage of budget workshops is the opportunity to look at things from a fresh perspective and touch on things people may not understand, including the county’s obligation to pay for things like indigent health care, medical examiner’s office fees and landfill tipping fees, which, along with collection site costs, are covered by the annual solid waste assessment.
The commission set its first budget workshop for March 1, but it was postponed to allow more time for advertisement.
