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Tough budget decisions loom
Published 11/17/2009 in Local News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
Finney County commissioners continued mulling over how they would negotiate county funding in the wake of a possibly tighter budget in 2011.
Based on conservative estimates from the Finney County Appraiser's Office, oil and gas values that impact the assessed valuation rate may go down as much as 50 percent, causing the 2011 budget to be six mills higher than the 2010 budget if expenditures were to remain the same, according to Assistant County Administrator Randy Partington.
County commissioners agreed during their last public meeting, Nov. 9, that a "soft hiring freeze" in place across county departments should continue. On Monday, they discussed the pros and cons of possible budget cuts, including plans to ask department heads to prioritize their expenditures as the board heads into budget discussions next summer.
County-funded employment vacancies in public safety departments continue to be filled, but a hiring freeze remains on administrative or maintenance employee vacancies, Partington, who also serves as the county's director of human services, said.
The assistant county administrator said the freeze has affected at least six administrative jobs across county departments, which have been lost through attrition over the last year. Whether those jobs will be permanently lost will be determined in July when commissioners make budgeting decisions for 2011, Partington added.
The same hiring freeze does not apply to Youth Services employees, which are state-funded positions, or the health department, whose employees are grant-funded, Partington said.
In addition, the county employment turnover rate is lower this year than in 2008, 14 percent and 20 percent, respectively, he said.
In the county sheriff's office — the department with the highest employee turnover among its 100 positions — at least three recent vacancies in the Street Gang Unit have been frozen due to expected budgeting woes in 2011, Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue said.
Bascue said he plans to replace one of the formerly four-member team with another deputy but will have to wait until a 2011 budget is approved to either fill or permanently remove those positions.
"We still feel like we need all those positions to take care of our citizens," Bascue said. "But because of the economy, we're doing what we need to do."
In other business:
* Finney County Fairgrounds Director Angie Clark met with commissioners to clarify a fee increase at the fairgrounds' buildings that initially was approved by the county board in August.
Commissioners agreed that a 5 percent increase in fees collected by the county would come from gross proceeds from booth rentals during trade-show events held at any of the fairgrounds' buildings.
Funds from fees are used to maintain the grounds and building, Clark said.
* Lynn Ballinger from the Southwest Arts and Humanities Council presented a canvas painting by Robin Valenzuela. Ballinger said her council purchased the artwork, the image of a sunflower, from the local artist and presented it to the County Commission as a gift. County officials said they plan to display the image in a public area of the county building.
The next regular meeting of the commission is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 8:30 a.m. at the Finney County Administrative Center, 311. N. Ninth St.
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