BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE— Bradford County’s finance department has the guidance it needs to present a tentative budget to the commission later this month.
Finance Director Dana LaFollette updated the board on which departments remained out of balance and how revenue and reserves could be moved around to complete the budget.
She also suggested all fund balance money be included in the budget, with unspent funds labeled as contingency. This contingency money will only be spent with commission approval. It should make the availability and spending of this money more transparent.
Beginning with the general fund, there is an estimated fund balance of $7.4 million by the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30. After projecting nearly $14.7 million in new revenue and $7.7 million in general fund expenditures, the new estimated fund balance is $14.4 million.
LaFollette also recommended transferring all 1 cent sales tax and fiscally constrained revenue to the general fund moving forward. Money will then be transferred from the general fund to balance the other budgets. So, nearly $6.1 million in sales tax revenue and $2.2 million in fiscally constrained funds (estimated new revenue and fund balance) will be moved to the general fund.
Then began the work to balance other departments. The road department was short more than $1.2 million. The department had a fund balance of nearly $1.5 million. Adding that to nearly $110,000 from the general fund balanced the department’s expenditures and leaves a recommended reserve for contingency of $400,000.
Fire rescue needed $3.5 million. After budgeting its $1.2 million fund balance and transferring almost $2.7 million from the general fund, the budget was balanced leaving $500,000 in reserve for contingency.
Solid waste had enough in its own reserves to balance its remaining $539,000 in expenditures while leaving nearly $182,000 in contingency funds for next year.
Fines and forfeitures, however, which includes spending for the sheriff’s office, jail and other court costs, received a nearly $8 million transfer from the general fund. Historically, this is where the 1 cent sales tax funds have been spent. The $8 million transfer and $283,000 in fund balance was used to balance this budget.
With $14.4 million in general fund balance to start, $8.3 million in sales tax and fiscally constrained funds were transferred in. Nearly $10.9 million was transferred out to other departments and funds. That will leave almost $11.8 million in the general fund’s own reserve for contingency — available to spend, but only with commission approval.
Without being specific, Commissioner Diane Andrews expressed disappointment the county hadn’t looked everywhere to cut spending. Cuts are asked of some, but others aren’t asked at all, she said, adding that commissioners weren’t given enough information from some budgets to make decisions.
In previous discussions there were requests for an itemized budget from the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Gordon Smith receives all of his revenue, including permission to spend funds generated by inmate housing, from the county commission.
“We don’t talk to some about cutting at all, and we have a $3 million hole. I’m just not OK with that. I think there’s still work to be done,” Andrews said.
Commissioner Chris Dougherty addressed it as a mathematical equation in which more revenue is needed to balance the spending.
“Until we get some of these other revenue sources in here to balance this out, it’s going to be like this every year. It’s been here every year since I’ve been on the board,” Dougherty said.
“Amen,” Commissioner Kenny Thompson said.
Dougherty used the special assessment on solid waste as an example. At $75 per household, it is significantly less than surrounding areas that are hauling their waste to the same landfill, he said.
Andrews has said before she doesn’t think citizens realize how much the county is paying for waste disposal, which amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in tipping fees every month.
New assessments and franchise fees have been discussed as sources of revenue to pay for services like public safety that could also allow the county to lower property taxes.
“We’ve got to be a unified front to be able to do this,” Dougherty said. “When I talk to commissioners in other counties and I look at their mathematical equation, we’re far behind.”
The result is a struggle to provide a minimum level of service without adequate personnel or response times.
“We can stay at 10 mills and continue to do this, or we can figure out how to balance the equation and stop having these conversations at the end of the year,” Dougherty said.
The county’s first budget hearing is on Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m.
