Commissioners foresee tough budget questions

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JERRY ENGLER
The Marion County Commission met Friday for a $735,966 payday session.

Toward the end of the meeting the commissioners reviewed individual budget questions posed by auditor Scot Loyd.

Commission Chairman Dan Holub said he and his fellow commissioners have many difficult budget questions to decide, but when the time for public input came at an evening hearing earlier in the week, only six persons attended other than county staff.

In conversations among themselves, the commissioners said with changes in technology, fuel needs and situations such as water quality arising, it would not be unusual to have 3-mill budget swings in short-term future years.

County Clerk Carol Maggard reported monthly sales tax received in July, and collected in May, at $42,210, down $6,000 from a year ago.

The commissioners approved a bid submitted by County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman for an IBM printer from Great Plains Computers of Marion for $2,959 versus competitive bids of $3,020.24 from CDWG and $2,880 from InfiniTec Inc.

They said Great Plains was given the bid because the company is local and does most of the work on courthouse computer systems.

The commissioners acknowledged receipt from the Marion County Economic Development Council of a list of recommendations to include in any job description for a county economic development worker.

Cardie Oil of Tampa was awarded a road and bridge area fuel bid of $17,219.90 over a competitive bid of $17,599.90 from Cooperative Grain & Supply of Hillsboro.

The bid included 800 gallons diesel in Tank 1 at $2.6980 a gallon; 2,150 gallons diesel in Tank 2 at $2.6980 a gallon; 1,800 gallons diesel in Tank 3 at $2.780 a gallon; and 1,800 gallons diesel in Tank 4 for $2.6780 a gallon.

The bid from CG&S for the same totals and tanks, respectively, included $2.698 a gallon, $2.698 a gallon, $2.678 a gallon, and $2.678 a gallon.

Road and Bridge Director Jim Herzet said his department nearly is out of the 10,000 tons of patching mix it ordered for this season, and probably will be ordering another 3,000 tons.

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