County expenditures under scrutiny

The Board of Commissioners for Lincoln County has received the budget requests from the various departments of the county and is now working to finalize the budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Preliminary budget requests from the county departments total $10,628,837, which is up from last year’s appropriation of $9,830,645.

The requested amounts are not, however, the final budget. Those numbers represent the total of requested amounts made by each department.

“What we’re doing right now is putting everyone’s wish-list together,” said Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder Robin Benson. “When the valuations come and we determine how many mills can be levied, then we’ll be able to adjust and finalize.”

The county budget consists of the general fund for the county, both tax and non-tax revenue, as well as the budgets for each of the special districts in the county. Part of the overall budget, in addition to anticipated levied funds, taxes, are the cash balances for each department remaining at the end of the current fiscal year. Those numbers are not yet available, as the fiscal year doesn’t end until June 30 and departments are still operating and spending money.

One number also not yet included in the general fund budget request, but which is still under consideration by the county commissioners, is the repayment to property owners for the over-taxation of previous years. The commissioners had previously stated their intent to repay the over-taxation amount during a period of three years, beginning this year.

“The 20 mill over-taxation repayment is not included in any numbers at this time,” Benson said. “But it is a focus point for discussion as we continue in the budgeting process.”

This year’s budget took a positive hit when Congress voted to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program for an additional two years. Secure Rural Schools, initially authorized in 2004, is intended to compensate counties who suffer under the burden of large federal land ownership. The money is intended to help rural counties that have been adversely impacted by a loss of revenue generated from national forests, primarily in the mining and timber harvesting sectors. Lincoln County is expected to receive in excess of $5 million during the two-year reauthorization period.

Forecasting the county’s budget can be tricky because revenue is difficult to predict, Benson said.

“We don’t know if the valuation is going to increase or decrease until August,” she said. “That is what makes the process so difficult.”

Benson said the county’s answer to the uncertainty is to prepare the expenditure side of the budget as early as possible.

“What we’re doing now is getting a handle on the expenditures,” she said. “When the revenue number is available, it will be much easier to make adjustments than to start the process from scratch.”

This year the process is even more up-in-the-air, as not only are the mill valuations undecided, but property assessments are being re-evaluated this year. If the total of the mill valuations and the property valuations come in higher than anticipated, the county could find itself in a budget surplus year. If the valuations and assessments are lower than expected, the county could find itself making cuts to the various departments’ budgets.

The early planning, Benson said, will allow the commissioners to react quicker and more efficiently should the revenue numbers be lower than expected this year.

“The idea is to give the commissioners more time to plan for a situation if the valuation goes down,” she said.

Commissioner Mark Peck said one of the goals this year is to make the process more transparent.

“There are a couple of big-chunk items moving from specific funds into the general fund,” Peck said. “It’s not really changing the budget, but it is day-lighting the process.”