Lewis County Commissioners and staff meet with a citizen budget committee Monday to discuss the 2019 county budget.
In meeting after yawn-inducing meeting, Lewis County commissioners and officials are slogging through the work of crafting the county’s 2019 budget.
It’s no easy task — the county is projected to run another deficit next year, and budget writers feel like they’ve run out of fat to trim. A healthy economy means things may be less dire soon, but those effects often take time to make their way to the government level.
“People say, ‘The economy’s great; how come Lewis County doesn’t have any money?’” said commissioner Gary Stamper. “We’re the tail end of the wagon. We’ll eventually see it.”
For now, Stamper and his colleagues are in the thick of writing a budget that will be adopted by the county in December. A meeting Monday to address budget increase requests from various departments lasted more than two hours and provided little in the way of firm conclusions.
At the current baseline level of service, the county is projected to pull about $3.5 million out of its reserve fund in next year’s budget. In reality, county leaders say, that number will end up being far less, because the county projects both revenues and expenditures very conservatively.
“We’ll have vacant positions and we’ll have unexpected revenues, and that’s why there’s typically a different outcome,” said Budget Manager Becky Butler.
The county went into this year projected to pull about $1.2 million from its reserve fund — a number that ballooned to $1.8 million as amendments were added throughout the year. Ultimately, the county is currently projected to actually put about $260,000 back into its reserves, much of that due to an unexpected $1.2 million payment from a federal program that reimburses counties with public lands.
Still, the $3.5 million deficit projection represents a significant uptick, and one that county budgeters say is difficult to avoid. Much of the increased expenditures come from salaries and benefits, and negotiated contracts that give the county little flexibility. There have been revenue adjustments as well, with reductions in some jail contracts and a shift in a road levy.
That’s just keeping things where they’re at now. On Monday, officials looked over another $1.5 million in funding requests from county departments. The Sheriff’s Office wants another four patrol deputies and two corrections deputies. The Juvenile Court wants a probation officer. IT Services wants cybersecurity upgrades. They all have compelling cases, but the county must weigh whether it’s worth further chipping away at its reserves.
“It’s a complicated issue,” said commissioner Edna Fund. “People think, ‘All that money, you guys just need to tighten your belts.’”
Commissioners attribute some of the difficult budget decisions to unfunded mandates, which are requirements imposed by the state for which it provides no or insufficient funding. For example, state law requires counties to provide legal defense and healthcare for inmates, but the counties must fund those services themselves.
County treasurer Arny Davis recognizes the limitations the county is facing.
“I feel sorry for our commissioners now, because they feel like their hands are tied,” he said.
Still, Davis believes it may be better to make painful cuts than continue dipping into the county’s reserves. He noted that consistently borrowing in the long run will hurt the county’s bond rating, which will increase costs for future capital projects.
“I consistently raised the red flag to the commissioners, and they understand,” he said. “I am a little concerned over the continued drawing on the reserves. … They have not had a reserve buildup since before I came to the courthouse. They’ve eroded every year.”
That trend will change in 2018 if the county meets its projections, but the current reserve balance stands at $9.6 million. The county’s “worst case scenario” — the number budget-writers do not want to drop below — is $5 million in the reserve fund. The current 2019 budget puts that fund at about $6 million by the end of next year, although county officials still maintain conservative estimates mean it’s unlikely to drop that low.
“We don’t want to drop below ($5 million),” said county manager Erik Martin. “Even 5 is much lower than it’s been for a long time.”
County budget-writers were joined Monday by a citizen advisory committee, an informal panel that sits in on meetings to learn about the process and provide feedback. All three members in attendance acknowledged budget constraints provided little wiggle room even amid desires to run a tight fiscal ship.
The “philosophical” question underlying all budget debate, Martin said, was the level of service the county provides.
“Are we good with what we’re doing now?” he said. “Do we do more, or can we get away with doing less?”
Within that reality, county officials are looking over budget line by budget line. Davis said cuts can be particularly difficult politically, because Law and Justice — the Sheriff’s Office, jail and prosecutor’s office — makes up 81 percent of the county’s budget.
“I don’t have any solutions other than to cut expenses,” he said. “You have to make the hard decisions and make those cuts, and you can be criticized for cutting public safety. When you want to be reelected as a commissioner, cutting — the Law and Justice side is going to lobby against you, and you won’t be elected anymore.”
While the county waits for the economic turnaround to reach its own finances — with hope for upticks in property taxes due to rising home values, and payoff from pending economic development projects — it will spend the coming months deciding if more near-term changes are necessary.
“If you get close to that $5 million (in reserves), at some point you have to go the other direction,” Martin said.
