Lewis County Commissioners Approve $800,000 Shift From Roads to General Fund

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Next year, a public works fund used for Lewis County roads will have $800,000 less to work with as the money is shifted into the general fund to help bridge a gap between expected expenditures and revenues in the Board of Lewis County Commissioners’ pursuit of adopting a structurally balanced budget.

It was just one of the decisions Commissioners Gary Stamper, Edna Fund and Bobby Jackson made on Thursday as budget discussions at the county continue. Several departmental budget increase requests were approved, while several decisions were put on hold and and three requests were denied. 

The last time commissioners approved a levy shift was in 2010 and 2011. 

Erik Martin, director of public works, said $500,000 of the shift would likely come for the department’s drainage program, which largely includes culvert replacement projects. 

“A lot of that would probably go away,” Martin said. 

The remaining $300,000 would probably result in less road maintenance work.

“There are places we can cut if we need to, but you are talking about less maintenance on the roads probably,” Martin said. 

Making such a move includes “a temporary shift of levy capacity… from the county’s road levy to the county’s current expense levy,” according to the the state’s County Road Administration Board’s website.

Commissioners did not want to approve the shift, but felt there was no other option.

With the shift, and the approved increase requests, the amount of reserves that may be used dropped to $697,395 instead of the original estimate of $1.2 million.

However, there are still several requests to consider, and medical costs for employees is still unknown. Medical costs alone could have an impact of close to $400,000 for the county, according to budget analyst Becky Butler. Retirement costs are also still not available, but are expected to increase.

“So you are working your way back up to $1 million, but that’s the worst case,” Butler said of the amount of reserves that might be used to balance the budget. 

Each year, the county has a rollback for vacant positions, which can help decrease the use of reserves. In the past, it’s ranged from $900,000 to $1 million, but less is anticipated in the 2018 year. 

Along with the shift, there will be an annual levy diversion from public works. 

This year, $1.4 million will be diverted from public works to once again help support the county’s traffic policing program with the sheriff’s office. The money provides deputies on patrol the ability to support the roads department as they look for safety issues or potholes. The money is also used to ensure the safety of public works crews near work zones.

 

Other Budget Issues

Commissioners still need to decide whether they will hire a county manager next year.  They also need to decide on the amount to allocate to the senior centers after the board announced it would no longer fund the program through 2018, an increase for the assessor’s office, and what kind of reductions will be made to the Washington State University’s Extension Office.

Commissioners denied a $7,500 increase request from WSU to increase the county’s contribution and made a $9,600 reduction after they decided to reclaim the training room the extension office uses. That will decrease the department’s budget because it will lower intergovernmental fees for maintenance. Commissioners discussed decreasing the office’s employment by just less than a full-time equivalent position, which would result in a cost savings of around $41,000. 

Before reducing the amount of staff, commissioners expressed a desire to talk to the extension office about other possible options. Commissioners also said they no longer want to pay as much for travel costs for WSU staff, which is expected to cost $3,000 next year. 

“We have to consider these non-mandated programs,” Butler said of the extension office. “Yes, they are a benefit to the county, but we need to consider where we are at financially to be able to afford that benefit.” 



The discussion to move the extension office into part of the Twin Cities Senior Center in Chehalis was not recommended by staff, who said they didn’t see much of a benefit. 

“I see it as a minimal gain for the work and the outcome that we’ll realize and the disruption it will cause not only to WSU, but to the Twin Cities Senior Center,” Central Services Director Steve Walton said. “...To use a phrase, it would be stepping over a dollar to save a dime.” 

The potential move is still not completely off the table. The extension office could be moved into the James building if the family support center operated by the prosecutor’s office moves into the courthouse after the fiscal department is decentralized in the first quarter of next year. 

An increase request for the assessor’s office was also tabled after the commissioners stated they needed more information.

Assessor Dianne Dorey requested $97,859 for a new appraiser for commercial and industrial properties, citing a Department of Revenue review which stated her office was understaffed. Commissioners said during the time of the review the office was not staffed at the same level as it is now.

A special assessment for the weeds department that would have offset costs of the program will not take place for the 2018 year due to time constraints. Commissioners also said they do not plan any new taxes next year, but that more money will be needed in 2019.

“I don’t want to raise taxes, but you can see we cut everything to the bone,” Commissioner Stamper said. 

Butler said if new revenue sources do not come in, the county will continue to face the same problems down the road. 

 

Commissioners made decisions on the following increase requests:

• A $3,778 increase in salary for the court commissioner in Lewis County Superior Court was approved. The court commissioner’s salary is usually set to 85 percent of a judge’s salary. A request to permanently tie a salary adjustment to increases for a judge’s salary through the state was denied. That means each time the judges are provided a salary increase, superior court will have to come to the board of commissioners to request an increase for the court commissioner, which they can approve or deny.

• The sheriff’s office and the Lewis County Jail each requested money for finger print machines, which the commissioners approved. The sheriff’s office will receive $23,508 for the replacement of one stationary fingerprint machine and one mobile fingerprint machine. The jail will also receive $22,248 for the replacement of two fingerprint machines. Each machine is eligible for a 90 percent cost reimbursement from the Washington State Patrol. The fingerprint machines would be out of date in 2020.

• A $296,618 request from the sheriff’s office for two new deputies was denied by the commissioners. The money would have paid for all the costs associated with the positions. “I wish we could,” Commissioner Fund said before the request was denied.

• The juvenile department was awarded two increase requests that total $11,500. Of that amount, $4,000 would be used to offset the cost for the replacement of a transport vehicle and $7,500 would be provided as an increase in salary so that a position can be reclassified as a first level supervisor. Commissioners also earlier approved a $22,000 increase for a pre-approved partnership with Northwest Pediatrics that will help provide 24-hour medical services to teens in the facility. 

• A request for $30,133 for the coroner’s office was approved for professional medical services. The money pays for autopsies performed by the forensic pathologists and the body removals undertaken by the contract mortuary. Commissioners decided to approve the request since the money can only be spent on the services mentioned. If the money is not used, it will be returned. In the future, commissioners will ask the coroner to look at different ways to complete the work at a lesser cost. 

• Instead of providing the community development department with a $90,000 increase, the commissioners were supportive of an increase in permitting fees in 2018 to offset the request. 

• A $75,000 request for a public disclosure staffer in the prosecutor’s office was quickly denied by commissioners. The money would have been used to pay for a person to compile public records request after Casey Mauermann, the person previously responsible for the task, took a new job as the public disclosure request manager in the county’s risk management department. 

• The commissioners decided to take back control of the training room the Washington State University’s extension office currently uses. That will result in a $9,600 reduction to the county’s contribution for the program. Other budget decisions, which would include a reduction of a staff member or the relocation of the office, have not yet been made. Commissioners also denied a $7,500 increase requested by WSU for outreach education program development. 

• The commissioners’ budget for their office has been reduced by $40,340 after an office assistant’s position was reduced to part-time earlier this year. The change will remain in effect for 2018 as the full-time employee splits her time between the commissioner’s office and the risk department where she pulls public records information. Included in the $40,340 of savings is a reduction to a currently vacant budget technician position, which was decreased to a .75 full time equivalent position.

• There will be a savings of around $135,000 after the county’s fiscal department is decentralized no later than April 1 of next year. The savings largely come from the removal of a management position after the employee who held the role left the county for a new job. The staff in the fiscal department will operate under individual departments under the oversight of the commissioners.