BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — County Clerk Denny Thompson delivered a budgetary reality check to county commissioners Monday, saying the county cannot continue spending at the current rate with no new sources of recurring revenue.
Commissioners have raised taxes and held departmental spending back, and they continue to consider enacting new fees, but the truth is that the budget is balanced on federal relief funds that will eventually run out.
Thompson, while not intending to say much, said quite a lot about the county’s finances. Comparing the current spending rate to the amount of revenue raised through property taxes, he said, the county would need to raise an additional 20% to fund the budget.
“I don’t want there to be any wondering, guessing about this, but to fund what we’re at right now, we would almost have to be at 2.1 mills above our maximum millage rate we’re at now at 10 mills. We’d have been at 12.1 mills,” he said.
To achieve that, the board would have to declare the county a Municipal Service Taxing Unit. Alternatively, it could add special assessments to annual tax bills for specific services (Municipal Services Benefit Unit).
“Please be mindful going into budget season that, whether it’s a franchise fee or whatever, it’s going to take a 20% increase over what ad valorem taxes are now to fund the budget we have right now,” Thompson said.
“So, Mr. Clerk, that’s with all the effort that’s gone into all the cuts that’s been made? So, we continue in this county, our expenditures continue to rise and our revenue either stays where it is, or it goes lower?” Chairman Chris Dougherty asked.
If you look back just five years, whether its operational or personnel costs, Thompson said you can see the difference. Even a little bit here and there adds up over time. Every time the board approves another $100,000 in spending, it has raised the county’s budget by 1%, the clerk said.
“Every time you approve a piece of equipment that’s $100,000, $200,000 —which is great to have. — but that $200,000 is 2% of the already approved budget that’s getting approved extra.”
Dougherty said even providing what he considers a limited level of public services is not working out mathematically.
“We have to crawl before we walk,” Thompson said. Tough decisions must be made.
“We’ve made a lot of tough decisions. I think we’ve put those decisions on each department.” Dougherty said.
“We’re still upside down,” Commissioner Kenny Thompson said.
“We’ve been saying it for years, and it just doesn’t work. So where the hell is the money going in this county?” Dougherty asked.
Commissioner Carolyn Spooner asked for the clerk’s analysis, and Clerk Thompson gave examples such as high health insurance costs and offering higher starting pay for some positions than much larger counties.
“We’re off kilter in several areas,” he said, inviting commissioners to sit down with him for a closer look, including at what other counties spend on law enforcement, fire rescue and public works.
“There’s hundreds of things here that nobody wants to change. Nobody wants to get cheap insurance. Nobody wants to sacrifice anything. I’ve sacrificed. I love this county,” he said. “I feel like we’re doing a disservice to the people of Bradford County — maxed out at 10 mills and we need 20% more. That’s a disservice to everybody in this audience. That’s a disservice to everybody in this county.”
Deputy Clerk Rachel Rhoden said the finance department is working on a detailed spreadsheet to be presented for the first time next month that will analyze revenue and spending in each department, including where money is being pulled from to cover expenses.
Instead of “kicking the can further down the road,” Thompson asked the board to do what it needs to do to balance the budget.
