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Commissioners Working Hard
Posted 1-22-2000
After a few weeks of very hectic activity, the new Board of County
Commissioners is beginning to settle into a positive working relationship.
The fact that we re-opened the county budget caused our schedules to be very
busy and my two new colleagues have rolled up their sleeves and went to
work. I'm sure the budget process is a bit overwhelming, but we have made
progress in making cuts and there is a recognition that a lot more tough
choices must be made.
The atmosphere in the
Commissioner's office is quite different than before and each Commissioner
has been putting in long days to stay on top of the large volume of work. In
fact, history was made this past Monday. Though it was a holiday, all three
Commissioners showed up for work. That phenomenon is really new and it bodes
well for the work ethic of the new Board.
The challenges ahead are
quite significant and the budget process and upcoming Salary Board meeting
are giving my colleagues a crash course in the real challenges we face. Our
action with this budget will probably reduce spending somewhere between $4
and $5 million. But it doesn't address the chronic factors that cause
spending to outpace revenues. Soaring health care costs and a sizeable
payroll are issues that really aren't addressed in this swipe at the budget.
In fairness to my new
colleagues, they deserve time to make an evaluation of how to deal with
those problems. Remember that the part of the budget that the Commissioners
really affect is the General Fund. The majority of General Fund revenues
come from county property taxes and when there are budget shortfalls, that
is our primary source to increase revenues. Making cuts to reimbursable
areas like human services and Westmoreland Manor will not -resolve our
problems.
There is a myriad of
problems, too lengthy to discuss in this short article, that continues to
exert pressure on county governments everywhere. Public Safety and the
Courts have been the fastest growing parts of our budget. The public has
demanded stricter laws, the State Legislature has accommodated them, but the
amount of money to fund the consequences of those changes hasn't been made
available from Harrisburg. The burden has fallen on counties and we are very
limited in our ability to generate enough revenue to pay these growing
program costs.
Also public safety demands
have grown considerably. Countywide 911 systems have become increasingly
costly and the $1.25 surcharge on telephone lines doesn't come close to
covering operating expenses.
So where does that leave this
new Board of Commissioners? We are at the beginning of a very difficult
journey to right the course of Westmoreland County's budget. We will have to
make many tough choices that at times may not make us very popular. But to
build trust in government that it can get things right, and to make public
policy that positively affects our county, we must move forward and prepare
for a changing future. |
