county trims budget; some cuts will have impact next year
Gwyneth Hyndman
Reporter
Lincoln County’s preliminary 2014-15 budget, released last week, shows a decrease from $15,419,974 last year to $15,283,662 – a difference of $136,312. However Lincoln County Commissioner Tony Berget said that numbers crunched show these cuts will also have a further impact on next year’s budget.
This is all while the county prepares to take in $1.9 million less in property tax revenue, as work begins to correct last year’s over-taxation error.
On Monday, Berget and the Executive Assistant Bill Bischoff said a closer look at higher insurance levels, property tax revenue, and revenue transfers showed that a 6.2 percent cut across most of the county’s 18 departments – including the general fund, public safety, county board of health and airport – added up to about $585,000.
This did not include an anticipated savings of $150,000 through the consolidation of the schools superintendent and the decision made earlier this month to eliminate the Eureka justice of the peace office along with the judge at the end of 2014.
About half of the $150,000 would impact this year’s budget. The other full impact will be seen in the budget next year.
Some of the cuts made this year had also been absorbed already by higher insurance costs, that have shot up from $1,373,915 to $1,798,746 due to an increase in county insurance and the effects of Obamacare, Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder Tammy Lauer said on Monday. For county employees who had not had a raise in several years, it was decided it would be prudent to cover health insurance for employees and their dependents this year, Lauer added.
Commissioners have also started cutting 60 mills over a three-year period to begin paying back the county after an over-taxation error of more than $2 million was reported earlier this year. They are still waiting to see if there will still be a significant change to the current mill yield, which is $36,434.
Total cash reserves in this year’s budget look to be down from $2,531,110 last year to $2,131,984.
Total resources had gone from $30,975,676 to 30,589,151 – a difference of about $460,670 – which had gone towards cutting taxes.
Berget said there were some departments that were being cut to the quick and it was uncertain if they could be cut further. One of these was the airport fund, he said, which had gone from $55,597 to $48,322 this year.
“What are you going to do, close down the airport?” Berget said. The airport was used by Air Ambulance and had “huge usage” during forest fire season, he said.
Some funds to have their budget increase in 2014/15 included the noxious weeds fund – up from $58,394 to $61,494 cash reserves – and the planning fund, which went from $145,735 to $154,796 because of a grant.
The 2014-15 budget is expected to be finalized mid-August.