County OKs $15.4 million budget

Lincoln County commissioners went beyond their preliminary budget proposal for 2013-14 and cut another $146,547 to come up with a final budget of $15.419 million.

Last month, commissioners, County Clerk Tammy Lauer and Treasurer Nancy Trotter Higgins came up with a preliminary budget of $15.566 million for the county. That figure was $2.5 million leaner than the 2012-13 tally of the year before. Then Thursday, the county approved additional cuts of $146,547. No one appeared to contest the $2.64 million budget reduction. 

With the evaporation and expiration of grants and the loss of federal dollars, such as the $2.7 million loss of Secure Rural Schools funding, the county was faced with making deep cuts, but it’s not over yet.

“We’ll still need to make more cuts in the coming years,” Presiding Commissioner Tony Berget said after the board unanimously approved the budget. “It’s going to get tougher from here on out. There are no easy cuts.”

Commissioners thus far have been able to avoid layoffs, but Berget hinted that may not be the case in the coming years.

“We may look at reducing the number of justices (of the peace) from two to one and looking at the (county) superintendent of schools job,” Berget said.

Currently, there are two justices, which could be reduced to one and elminating the county superintendent of schools post now held by Ron Higgins.

The county employs two justices of the peace, one in Libby and another in Eureka.

“Whatever we decide to do will effect personnel and the court in Eureka,” Troy Commissioner Ron Downey said. 

The hardest hit was the cut to the General Fund, which last year was appropriated $4.9 million. This year, the sharp knives came out to the General Fund to the tune of $1.12 million in cuts.

The next hardest hit of the county funds is the Road Fund, to which nearly all the Secure Rural Schools funding was channeled. Last year, the county appropriated $4.783 million for the Road Fund. This year, $3.874 million has been appropriated for the fund, which represents a decrease of $909,322.

Virtually all funds were cut, and the most notable to the Weeds Fund, $3,896, the Ambulance appropriation from $373,069 to $336,341, or nearly $37,000.

The Airport Fund realized a drop of $6,895 for 2013-14 to $55,597.

As difficult as the budgt was to establish, Lauer said making cuts now could make thing easier in the future.

“We looked at the budget and the additional ($146,547) seemed to make sense to come from the Road Fund. All of these are difficult,” Lauer said.

Eureka Commissioner Mike Cole, who listened in to the budget hearing via a teleconference, said budget cuts are difficult and fears the worst.

“This is never easy, but it’s got to be done.”

Berget summed it up best, for now.

“We’ve done all the cutting we can up to this point without cutting personnel, but that’s likely to change next go-around if we don’t get the federal funding,” Berget said.