Staff writer
Washington County's preliminary $58 million general fund budget for 2008 shows a $526,762 deficit but also no property tax increase.
Budget hearings in the Courthouse Square seventh-floor conference room with elected officials and department heads are scheduled to begin Monday.
"We're going to do what we can to cut costs and find additional revenues," said Roger Metcalfe, Washington County finance director. "We're waiting for health-care numbers, which we generally are at this time of the year. The numbers we have right now are between 12 and 20 percent (increases). This is the first time in a couple years we've had numbers that high."
The county's spending plan is based on a property tax levy of 21.4 mills, which has been the case since January 2004.
It's an election year, so the electorate will be watching the budget process warily.
Even before Metcalfe delivered the first copies of the preliminary budget late Thursday afternoon, commission Co-Chairman Larry Maggi said flatly, "There will be no tax increase this year. We've obviously discussed the preliminary budget. We're still negotiating our health insurance premium. There won't be any tax increase for 2008."
Commission Co-Chairman Bracken Burns discussed what goes into the preparation of a spending plan.
"In excess of 90 percent of our budget is mandated," Burns said. "It's mandated by law. We can't arbitrarily say, well, let's do without 10 percent fewer nurses at the health center or let's lay off 20 jail guards, et cetera. Those positions are mandated by law, the ratio of prisoners to guards, the ratio of patients to nurses.
"And I don't mean we would want to go below those mandates, I'm simply saying that if somebody thought they would balance the budget by cutting services, most of them can't be cut. The salaries are required by union contract.
"I don't anticipate a tax increase, but it would be premature because we haven't had the budget hearings yet," Burns added.
Commissioner Diana L. Irey said she had no specifics on whittling the deficit, having spoken briefly with Metcalfe as she received her copy of the spending plan.
"I'm sure there are some things we can trim to make the budget without raising taxes," Irey said. "I'm making that a priority."
The preliminary budget is the first version of the county's spending plan. The second version, known as the posted budget, will be released around Thanksgiving. The final version is scheduled to be adopted in December.
On Thursday morning, the commissioners heard from Harry Sabatasse of Smith Township, unsuccessful candidate for county commissioner in the May Democratic primary, who called for a rollback of commissioners' salaries. Burns' salary is $64,971 while Maggi's and Irey's is $1,000 less. All receive a yearly 3 percent increase that the previous board, which included Irey and Burns, but not Maggi, voted for in 2001. Irey has twice unsuccessfully tried to revisit the issue.
"No one on this board has ever raised their salary," Burns told Sabatasse, saying the board of commissioners followed the process outlined in state law.