County funding restored

The collective sigh of relief coming out of the Lincoln County Courthouse this week is a result of notice that the county will receive 95 percent of the Secure Rural Schools funding it received last year, or about $4.8 million.

More than $723,000 of that total will go for Title II and III programs. The remaining $4.1 million will be shared by the county and Lincoln County Schools.

Commissioners historically earmark the federal money for its road program. The preliminary allotment will be about $2.7 million for roads, while the final third will go to schools, $1.4 million.

“It’s a wonderful surprise,” said Presiding Commissioner Tony Berget, upon learning of the correspondence from Gov. Steve Bullock’s Office of Budget and Program Planning. “We really didn’t expect it.”

Commissioners grew wary about the Secure Rural Schools funding in the spring when the federal government’s automatic budget cuts kicked in. Still, the county passed a fiscal 2013-2014 budget a couple of months later that included spending reductions of about $700,000 with hopes that most of the federal money would be appropriated again.

Commissioners said they were planning to cut additional spending in the coming years in anticipation that federal funding to local governments would dwindle.

Casualties of this year’s cuts were vast, the lion’s share coming from the Road Department.

Despite learning of the restored funding this week, commissioners announced Wednesday possible reductions to the justices of the peace program and eliminating the county school superintendent’s post.

The letter to commissioners from Bullock’s Budget Director Dan Villa announced the funding for the current fiscal year would be at 95 percent of the prior year’s total.

County Administrator Bill Bischoff called it “good news.”

Commissioners have until Dec. 20 to complete the paperwork to receive the federal funding, Bischoff said.