| |
1998 Budget Taps Reserve Fund
Posted 12-16-1997
I am happy to report good news for the taxpayers of Westmoreland County. We will NOT raise
county taxes for the 1998 budget. While I'm sure that news is well-received, the news for
the Commissioners as managers of the budget isn't quite as good. We still have a deficit
budget of nearly $10 million that we must balance with existing fund balances (reserves).
This large deficit is slightly less than last year's $11 million deficit. I must note that
this is the preliminary budget and the Commissioners have began the process of cutting
many budget requests. The final budget we approve at the end of December will certainly
have a smaller deficit.
The overall budget is over $190 million and
that includes all the human service programs we run plus Westmoreland Manor. The part of
the budget where the Commissioners have real control is the General Fund. There we are
looking at nearly $74 million in revenues but $84 million in expenses. The most
frustrating expense to me is the beginning of a major capital investment (approximately $5
million for the 1998 budget) in upgrading the technology of our 911 center. What is
frustrating is we still have one year left to pay on the center's current equipment. But
with technology changing so quickly and high band radio frequencies in such great demand,
we are forced to act now or have the FCC sell off the county's frequencies. If that would
happen, we could be faced with buying back those frequencies in the future at very high
costs when all emergency service communications are conducted on high band frequencies.
County government only generates 25.57%
($49 million) of it's revenue from property taxes. So we are very dependent on state and
federal funds for much of our budget. Charges for services make up 22.41% ($43 million) of
the budget and inter-governmental revenues account for 38.45% ($73 million). Miscellaneous
revenues are 8% ($15 million), the gain on the sale of investments is 4.4% ($8.4 million),
and the fund balance accounts for 1.2% ($2.2 million).
The greatest portion of revenue, 48% ($92
million), is expended on human services. The next largest amount is spent on public safety
16.7% ($32 million), this expenditure includes our 911 Center, emergency management,
operation of the prison, and other efforts related to public safety. The court system
costs are about 9.5% ($18 million), general government administration 8.1% ($15.4
million), capital projects account for 6% ($11.7 million), and smaller amounts go to debt
service, public works, conservation, recreation, and other miscellaneous expenses.
My greatest concern is that even though we
balance our budget on paper we still operate at a deficit and if we don't start cutting
now, in the future we won't have reserves to balance the budget. My goal is each year to
reduce the deficit until we truly have a balanced budget. But that effort will not be
easy. It will take discipline from the County Commissioners and all county elected
officials and employees. We must spend wisely and conservatively and the Commissioners
must be dedicated to reducing the size of the payroll. For too many years, jobs have been
created without looking at the long-term consequences. While we want to provide the best
level of services to you, we must be creative and find ways to better utilize technology
to increase efficiency and reduce the size of county government. |
