County audit moves ahead

An independent auditor will soon be contracted to review the countywide mill-levy errors that cost taxpayers at least $2.2 million during the last three years. Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder Tammy Lauer said Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. in Missoula would handle the audit.

Numbers presented earlier this month at a meeting to discuss county tax issues were said to be close, but unofficial. The review of county books by an outside agency will help dictate how county commissioners downsize the county budget going forward.

One idea, proposed by Commissioner Tony Berget, is to cut several county department budgets by 12.5 percent.

“We can’t cut things like search and rescue or sanitation,” Berget said. “(Fellow commissioner) Mike Cole suggested across-the-board cuts at 8 percent. I added up some of the numbers, looking at what it would take to reach $1.1 million.”

The $1.1 million figure is the sum of countywide overtaxation in the current fiscal year. Berget characterized the proposed cuts as “massive.”

One of the departments that would be affected by the proposed cut is the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. A one-eighth cut would account for a $500,000 drop in the sheriff’s budget.

“Gosh, it would devastate our budget,” Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said, adding he does not consider the 12.5 percent cut as a serious proposal.

Commissioner Ron Downey said a commissioners meeting is scheduled March 4 to discuss budget cuts.

“I know we are going to have to cut a lot to come out on top this year,” Downey said. “I don’t think some of the departments can handle (a 12.5 percent cut). The Roads Department was cut $100,000 last year. When you do that, you cut gravel and asphalt. If you are interested in maintaining the roads you need to give them something to work with. The state mandates have a lot to do with our budget, but those mandates do not come with money. It’s going to be a bad situation. If we are going to keep any services at all, we need to do a lot.”

An error related to the calculation of the taxes Revett Minerals pays for the ore produced at Troy Mine led to the county collecting 22 percent of its tax revenue in error during the last three years. There is no way around it, the coming months are going to be trying times for commissioners looking to slash and department heads defending their dollars.

Commissioner Mike Cole said the 12.5 percent number comes from the county’s anticipated drop in next year’s tax revenue.

“There’s no questioning that’s the amount,” Cole said. “I don’t know if we are going to cut anyone by that number, but I am more of an across-the-board guy. I understand percentages and I think people do, too. If we take that approach, it gives department heads an opportunity to look at what they’re seeing for the future.”