Madison Co. BOC addresses 2013 revenue shortfall

Thomas agreed to the measure.

“I’m pretty easy to work with,” he said. “If y’all leave $30,000, I think I can work with that and come back to you later and see where we stand.”

The sheriff also informed the board that the jail’s nurse is leaving and that he is considering a contract with a company to handle nursing duties at the jail.

The board also shaved $144,000 off projected expenses Thursday when commissioner Mike Youngblood noted that the road department budget included funding for four positions that have gone unfilled for a couple of years.

“We’ve been funding those positions in the budget and getting the money back at the end of the year,” said Youngblood. “Let’s do away with those four open positions that haven’t been filled in two years.”

Dove noted that the money may need to go toward road funding, since the transportation tax referendum recently failed.

“Our biggest issue over the next two years is going to be road funding,” said Dove.

Youngblood agreed that the money could be used for roads, but he wanted the funds for the unfilled positions to go back into the county’s cash reserves.

County commissioners also agreed Thursday to trim their contingency (emergency) fund line by $90,000, from $100,000 to $10,000.

The county anticipates a roughly $4.5 million to $5 million cash balance at the end of the calendar year. Any emergency expenses can be handled through that instead of contingencies, board members said. They also noted that the contingency line item was far more necessary several years ago when the county had no cash reserves.

“I remember when we pushed for $250,000 in contingencies because we had nothing else to fall back on,” said Youngblood.

With significant cash reserves anticipated at the end of the year, the board may use some of this money to balance next year’s anticipated shortfall.

Last year, the county budgeted about $400,000 from cash reserves to fund the 2012 budget. The board ended up using $379,000, but that included the purchase of three buildings, with one going for the new Fine Finish facility, for roughly $500,000.

Commissioner John Pethel said he’s not in favor of pulling over $600,000 from cash reserves to wipe out next year’s shortfall.

“I’m not comfortable using that much in reserves,” said Pethel. “What if we have another $600,000 or $700,000 next year?”

He noted that surrounding counties have had layoffs and more drastic budget cuts.

Commissioner Stanley Thomas said Madison County has managed its money better than some other counties. He said the county has made cuts over the past several years and avoided big expenses.

“Some counties didn’t prepare like we did,” he said.

Commissioner Thomas said the board has three choices regarding the shortfall: cut spending, raise taxes or pull from reserves.

But he said additional spending cuts would likely involve layoffs.

“When you look at $600,000, they have got to be major cuts,” said Thomas.

Pethel said he was not talking about staff reductions. He said he wanted all department heads to look at their budgets and determine what could be cut. He suggested that the board ask all department heads to shave their expenses by two percent.

The board ultimately took no vote no the budget last week, but the group did hear from several local officials on budgeting matters.

For instance, EMS director Jason Lewis asked the commissioners to allow him to reclassify an employee in his office as a training director, who would oversee training for all EMS employees. He said that this would allow training to be “tailored to the individual employee” and what they most need. Right now, three EMS workers oversee the training. Lewis said the change would not require a budget increase.

The EMS director also said EMS Station 1 on Hwy. 98 in Danielsville needs a new roof. He said this can be covered with sales tax money, but the expense may delay the needed purchase of an ambulance with sales tax funds.

The board heard from county extension coordinator Susan Goldman, who informed the group that her contract for one day a week of work with Oglethorpe County had been discontinued for 2013. The board agreed to cover $1,800 in lost wages, noting that she will now have more time to work with Madison County 4-Hers. The board members thanked Goldman for her work with local kids.

“That’s a small price to pay for what you do for the kids,” said commissioner Mike Youngblood.

The school board is also contributing $1,800 to cover the Oglethorpe cut.

Clerk of Court Michelle Strickland informed commissioners of new responsibilities on her office that have been mandated by the state. She requested that a position be changed from part-time to full-time to handle the new mandates, a move that would cost roughly $13,000.