County leaning toward across-the-board 6% budget cut

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JERRY ENGLER
A 6 percent across-the-board cut in funding may be the Marion County Commission’s strategy to balance its budget.

Again at Monday’s meeting, commissioners struggled with its consultant, Scot Lloyd, to find ways to meet declines in state funding and sales tax revenues without increasing property taxes.

The specter of increasing property tax did come up in reviewing worksheets. Lloyd suggested that a nearly 2.5-mill increase from the 2003 budget to the 2004 budget could be necessary to maintain originally projected funding levels.

The commissioners decided they have two more weeks to finalize budget plans, so none of the long lists of figures and projections Lloyd presented at the beginning and end of the session were actually acted upon.

The State of Kansas, which began the crisis by not passing on promised funding to counties and cities, was periodically criticized by commissioners during the meeting. The problem has been compounded with Marion County sales tax collections for the first six months of the year totaling $217,060.84-down $11,649.41 from a year ago.

Lloyd pointed out that the general fund, with a $606,569 carryover, and the road and bridge fund, with a $439,848 carryover, have the largest cash reserves from year to year that might be partially diverted to handle deficiencies in other areas. But the commissioners seemed reluctant to risk not having sufficient cash reserves on hand to meet needs.

Commissioner Leroy Wetta said, “I don’t want us to get into the position of the State of Kansas where we welch out on commitments, can’t send checks, and play silly games. I don’t want a deficit to occur.”

Commission Chairman Howard Collett said, “We don’t want to get ourselves in a position where we’re spending tomorrow’s dollars.”

Commissioner Bob Hein said, “We don’t know what the state will do in the future either.”

Lloyd suggested the commissioners look at resurfacing fewer miles of roads than has been projected for next few years in order to divert funds. But they were reluctant to take anything away from that program.

Collett said keeping the roads in good condition is a fundamental investment.

“(It’s) kind of like keeping a good roof on your house,” he said.

Hein said truck traffic already is wearing down the roads, and constituents are pressing the commissioners to keep them up.

Lloyd promised to keep working on projections to pay off bond funds early to save money and on general fund projections.

Collett said the county had a moral responsibility to try to keep the same level of funding for agencies that offer the most fundamental help for mental health and the developmentally disabled. He said keeping the needs in mind “of those most in need among us” is necessary for the well-being and future of many county families.

Wetta said some departments have made such strong efforts to help with the budget problem that they have made “unrealistic projections” of how little they need, while other departments haven’t put forth the same effort.

Wetta said he wanted to make sure the commissioners didn’t “punish those departments that tried.”

Collett said it is difficult to make cuts in judicial and law enforcement departments when “court decisions can determine funding.”

Hein said if the jail stays full it costs the county more in funding.

At one point Lloyd’s worksheets projected the county would end the year with a $54,769 deficit instead of the usual cash balance. Employee benefit funds from health insurance to unemployment insurance were reshuffled, and doing away with a promised 2 percent increase in employee pay raise was explored.

County Clerk Carol Maggard said cutting capital outlay and maintenance funds could cause problems.

One hard-hitting storm could wipe out any gains, Hein said.

Throughout it all, it was said the transfer station stands on its own with its own funding separate from other county departments.

Another county problem, the algae bloom at Marion Reservoir that caused a water supply crisis, is still here, said David Brazil, sanitarian, zoning director and transfer station manager.

Brazil asked permission to organize a discussion among parties to work together instead of going diverse ways. The parties included the three cities involved, the Corps of Engineers, the Kansas departments of Health and Environment and Wildlife and Parks.

He said the algae bloom could still represent a drinking problems and a “recreation contact problem.”

The commissioners affirmed his idea as long as the county acted only as a facilitator for the groups and wasn’t assuming any responsibility for the crisis, especially any of the jurisdictional power that rests with KDHE.

Bill Smithhart, household hazardous waste and noxious weed director, presented his annual hazardous household waste report to KDHE that included 24,643 pounds disposed of at a cost of $44,924 for 278 participants.

Of those materials, 2 percent were recycled through a reuse program, 12 percent disposed of at a cost to participants, 68 percent disposed of at no cost, and 18 percent were still on hand.

The commissioners authorized Maggard to begin advertising for a successor for retiring Emergency Medical Services director JoAnn Knak with a deadline of Aug. 22.

The commissioners accepted a road and bridge area fuel bid from Cardie Oil of Tampa for 4,000 gallons of diesel in tank three at $1.1184 a gallon for $4,073.60, 1,500 gallons of diesel in tank one at $ 0.8617 a gallon for $1,292.55, and 3,000 gallons of gasoline at $1.2097 a gallon for $3,689 for a total $9,395.25.

Sandra and A.J. Svoboda appeared before the commission to ask that the 2002 solid waste assessment be dropped on the property they bought at the tax sale in Ramona in September. They said because of recording legals and a title delay on the property, they didn’t receive assessment notice until last month, and there isn’t a residence on the property to require the assessment.

The commissioners noted that time for the appeals process is over on the property, and they did not want to set a precedent for violating the appeals process. So they asked the Svobodas to pay the assessment, and then go through a routine hearing process to recover the fee.

The Svobodas agreed, saying their main purpose was not to have their names published in tax delinquency notice for something they didn’t actually owe.

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