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County faced with $3.8 million budget shortfall
Shar Porier/Wick Communications
How do you make up a $3.6 million shortfall?
That's the question Cochise County Administrator Mike Ortega and Highway and Floodplain Director Bennie Young had to face in the worsening economic times.
They reported to the county Board of Supervisors in separate meetings on ways to make up for that loss.
In the general fund, Ortega laid out the bad news that revenues, particularly from state and the local half-cent sales taxes, were in a decline and it appeared in projections that the county would be short around $1.3 million. The decline of state sales tax is estimated to be $833,000, and the local tax shortfall is $465,000. Recorder's fees and sheriff's fees are also down a total of $50,000.
"This signals a reduction in spending due to the economy," Ortega said, at the Nov. 13 gathering. "The biggest message I see is that there is something going on in our local economy."
Just a short time ago, county officials believed the county was insulated from the economic meltdown due to Fort Huachuca and a retiree population. While some downturn was anticipated, a more positive outlook was held. Now, the county is forced to streamline its way of doing business.
Ortega laid out several options to cut expenses, including a hiring freeze, reduced work weeks, closing satellite offices for one day a week, reduced travel and training, or no new decision packages from the departments.
Closing down just a few buildings for a day could save as much as $30,000 to $50,000, he estimated.
Since the county historically has 220 to 250 positions vacated annually, if half of those went unfilled, the savings could be as much as $4.5 million. Ortega said that essential emergency personnel, the County Attorney's Office and the legal defense office need to maintain adequate staffing. In fact, costs for prosecution are up. Already this year there have been 24 jury trials.
There are normally around 25. Costs build with more juries, expert witnesses and indigent defense attorneys.
"There have been a significant number of violent crimes," Ortega added. "The costs are going through the roof and the Attorney's Office will be over budget this year."
There's also the unknown hit the county could take from the state baling itself out of its $2 to $3 billion shortfall. That could cost the county $1 million to $1.5 million.
"It is bad news," said Mary Gomez, director of the Cochise Aging and Social Services. "But if we look at the silver lining we will see ways for us to become efficient that will extend beyond the budget crisis."
As for Board of Supervisors clerk Katie Howard, she offered, "I have worked at places where they laid people off. Better to have this than go through that."
Ortega plans to give a mid-year review to the supervisors in March to see how the cost-cutting methods are working.
Highway and Floodplain
The challenge for Young was to make up at estimated $1.3 million in lost Highway User Revenue Funds. He called that a conservative estimate.
County faced with $3.8 million budget shortfall
The highway department depends almost solely on HURF to keep up county roads. Added revenue comes from the tags and registration of new cars, but those have fallen off, too.
He presented a new work plan that cuts some projects so the essential roadwork could be done. Instead of 180 miles of chip-seal maintenance, he proposes to do 100 miles. There will be no major reconstruction of any roads.
"The department will hold things together as well as we can with patching, crack-sealing and chip-sealing," he told the supervisors.
That means work on parts of Davis and Fort Grant roads will be rescheduled to a future date.
Other cuts include the impact fee study, one of the planned Dragoon Road culverts, the Moson and Thuma roads intersection, the School House Wash detention basin, and Moson Road right-of-way acquisition. It may be necessary to put a hold on any new public/private road maintenance partnerships, Young said.
Even though the residents share in the cost, asphalt has risen 60 percent over the past three months, and the county may not be able to continue an existing partnership without an increase.
"The first priority of the oil companies is to produce gas and diesel fuel. The heavier crude products have a lower priority. So even though the cost of fuel is down, projections indicate asphalt will continue to rise," Young said.
If the county were to do every project that had been scheduled, it would cost an extra $1 million for the asphalt. That also would throw the department into the red, Young said.
The federally-funded Davis Road project would proceed, he added.
Things may not be much better in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. So, Young wants to focus on basic road maintenance projects that will not cost as much money and cover more county roads.
Young also suggested there may be another federal disbursement included in the $700 billion federal government bailout that will provide municipalities and counties with funding to complete projects ready to go.
Normally, when dealing with federal money, the red tape slows things down.
That may not be the case if the disbursement becomes a reality.
Over the next few months, the supervisors plan on meeting weekly or biweekly with Ortega and Young to keep abreast of the budget situation.
(Shar Porier is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
How do you make up a $3.6 million shortfall?
That's the question Cochise County Administrator Mike Ortega and Highway and Floodplain Director Bennie Young had to face in the worsening economic times.
They reported to the county Board of Supervisors in separate meetings on ways to make up for that loss.
In the general fund, Ortega laid out the bad news that revenues, particularly from state and the local half-cent sales taxes, were in a decline and it appeared in projections that the county would be short around $1.3 million. The decline of state sales tax is estimated to be $833,000, and the local tax shortfall is $465,000. Recorder's fees and sheriff's fees are also down a total of $50,000.
"This signals a reduction in spending due to the economy," Ortega said, at the Nov. 13 gathering. "The biggest message I see is that there is something going on in our local economy."
Just a short time ago, county officials believed the county was insulated from the economic meltdown due to Fort Huachuca and a retiree population. While some downturn was anticipated, a more positive outlook was held. Now, the county is forced to streamline its way of doing business.
Ortega laid out several options to cut expenses, including a hiring freeze, reduced work weeks, closing satellite offices for one day a week, reduced travel and training, or no new decision packages from the departments.
Closing down just a few buildings for a day could save as much as $30,000 to $50,000, he estimated.
Since the county historically has 220 to 250 positions vacated annually, if half of those went unfilled, the savings could be as much as $4.5 million. Ortega said that essential emergency personnel, the County Attorney's Office and the legal defense office need to maintain adequate staffing. In fact, costs for prosecution are up. Already this year there have been 24 jury trials.
There are normally around 25. Costs build with more juries, expert witnesses and indigent defense attorneys.
"There have been a significant number of violent crimes," Ortega added. "The costs are going through the roof and the Attorney's Office will be over budget this year."
There's also the unknown hit the county could take from the state baling itself out of its $2 to $3 billion shortfall. That could cost the county $1 million to $1.5 million.
"It is bad news," said Mary Gomez, director of the Cochise Aging and Social Services. "But if we look at the silver lining we will see ways for us to become efficient that will extend beyond the budget crisis."
As for Board of Supervisors clerk Katie Howard, she offered, "I have worked at places where they laid people off. Better to have this than go through that."
Ortega plans to give a mid-year review to the supervisors in March to see how the cost-cutting methods are working.
Highway and Floodplain
The challenge for Young was to make up at estimated $1.3 million in lost Highway User Revenue Funds. He called that a conservative estimate.
County faced with $3.8 million budget shortfall
The highway department depends almost solely on HURF to keep up county roads. Added revenue comes from the tags and registration of new cars, but those have fallen off, too.
He presented a new work plan that cuts some projects so the essential roadwork could be done. Instead of 180 miles of chip-seal maintenance, he proposes to do 100 miles. There will be no major reconstruction of any roads.
"The department will hold things together as well as we can with patching, crack-sealing and chip-sealing," he told the supervisors.
That means work on parts of Davis and Fort Grant roads will be rescheduled to a future date.
Other cuts include the impact fee study, one of the planned Dragoon Road culverts, the Moson and Thuma roads intersection, the School House Wash detention basin, and Moson Road right-of-way acquisition. It may be necessary to put a hold on any new public/private road maintenance partnerships, Young said.
Even though the residents share in the cost, asphalt has risen 60 percent over the past three months, and the county may not be able to continue an existing partnership without an increase.
"The first priority of the oil companies is to produce gas and diesel fuel. The heavier crude products have a lower priority. So even though the cost of fuel is down, projections indicate asphalt will continue to rise," Young said.
If the county were to do every project that had been scheduled, it would cost an extra $1 million for the asphalt. That also would throw the department into the red, Young said.
The federally-funded Davis Road project would proceed, he added.
Things may not be much better in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. So, Young wants to focus on basic road maintenance projects that will not cost as much money and cover more county roads.
Young also suggested there may be another federal disbursement included in the $700 billion federal government bailout that will provide municipalities and counties with funding to complete projects ready to go.
Normally, when dealing with federal money, the red tape slows things down.
That may not be the case if the disbursement becomes a reality.
Over the next few months, the supervisors plan on meeting weekly or biweekly with Ortega and Young to keep abreast of the budget situation.
(Shar Porier is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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county resident wrote on Nov 26, 2008 2:41 PM: