The budget outlook?

After months of hacking away at the budget, Madison County commissioners seemed somewhat optimistic recently as they neared the final stages of the exhaustive numbers balancing act.

“This is where the rubber meets the road,” said BOC chairman Anthony Dove. “We’ve got to make some decisions.”

Projected expenses still exceed anticipated revenues by roughly $420,000 to $521,000 in 2010 — depending on whether county anticipates a 95-percent or 97-percent tax collection rate next year. But the commissioners think they’ll find ways to make up that shortfall without turning to taxpayers for additional money.

That said, county homeowners can expect a tax increase of over $240 on their next bill due to the state government’s abandonment of the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Grant.

Commissioners have repeatedly said that they don’t want to raise taxes on property owners, noting that the state is already hitting those homeowners with an increased burden.

Instead of raising taxes, the BOC may cover the revenue shortfall in a couple of ways — one, is cutting holiday pay in 2010 for county employees. The board discussed completely eliminating holiday pay next year, which would save $225,000. However, the board agreed to look for another $112,500 to trim from the county budget so they can give employees 50 percent holiday pay. They found the answer Monday, when chairman Anthony Dove announced that the county will receive $125,000 more in insurance premium tax revenue than initially expected.

Another funding source may be leftover money in the 2009 budget. The commissioners noted that they have approximately $325,000 left in contingency funds for 2009. A portion of those funds may be put toward the revenue shortfall. However, salaries in the sheriff’s office weren’t adequately funded in the 2009 budget. And the BOC may have to use contingency funds to cover that shortfall.

BOC members also said the county could generate more revenues by encouraging citizens to buy goods and services in Madison County rather than elsewhere.

Commissioner John Pethel suggested that the BOC mandate one furlough day per month for county employees. But commissioners didn’t seem to think such a measure would be necessary, particularly if some holiday pay is cut.
“I think we need to be optimistic and see how it pans out,” said commissioner Bruce Scogin. “I think we’re looking pretty safe … without furlough days … It’s my hope that we may not have to take holiday pay.”

While the board spoke at length about cutting expenses — once again poring over line after line in the budget and trimming $24,538 last Wednesday — the group spoke, too, about the need for a tax sale to force delinquent taxpayers to pay up or lose their property.

As of August, there was $3.2 million in unpaid property taxes in Madison County, dating back to 2004. The county’s portion of the unpaid taxes is approximately $900,000, according to numbers provided by finance director Kathy Clark.

“We have $900,000 in uncollected taxes,” said commissioner Stanley Thomas. “If we got a sale, that should be a big boost to income, but that’s if that happens.”

Thomas added that a tax sale would also prompt delinquent taxpayers to pay up instead of losing their property. He said many people who are behind on their taxes were delinquent before the rough economic times hit.

Commissioner Mike Youngblood told Clark that he wants a list with names and addresses of all people behind on their taxes.

Clark said that the county has collected 91.75 percent of its taxes for 2008 — this year’s tax bills have yet to be issued. She noted that the county has collected 99.68 percent for 2004, 99 percent for 2005, 98 percent for 2006 and 96.35 percent for 2007.

Clark said she believed an anticipated 95-percent collection rate would be safe for 2010. Budgets are typically set with an anticipated 97-percent collection rate. Meanwhile, Scogin said he felt the county could bounce back next year with a 97-percent rate. The difference between a 95 and 97 percent collection rate in 2010 would be $151,000 in revenue.

Pethel noted that some people don’t pay their taxes and yet expect the county to provide services.

“A guy I talked to owes four years in back taxes and he said to me that if the county wasn’t so sorry, we would come put gravel on his road,” said Pethel. “And I had to bite my tongue, because one reason we can’t put gravel on your road is unpaid taxes.”

As the board reviewed numerous line items in the 2010 budget, they discussed legal fees that have exceeded departmental budgets. For instance, they noted that legal fees in the tax assessor’s office for 2009 total $22,991. The BOC fired the assessor board in April and was involved in legal battle that lasted several months. The group agreed that legal fees in that office will be reduced in 2010. The group also noted that the road department budgeted $500 for legal expenses in 2008, but the actual budget for road department legal fees in 2008 was $94,196. The legal fees for that department to date this year are $22,933. That legal expenses in the road department are related to an ongoing lawsuit over Sam Bruce Road in the Harrison district.