County budget said now a million short

Already charged with cutting their 2011 spending by 2.6 percent, Whitman County officials Monday learned they may have to double those cuts in July.

County Commissioner Greg Partch told his fellow commissioners Monday morning that revenues are now expected to fall short of projected spending by as much as $1 million. The county passed a 2011 budget that was projected at the start of the year to fall $660,000 short of balancing.

“The good news is, we know where we’re at,” said Partch. “The bad news is, we know where we’re at. And it isn’t good.”

The county had planned to cover half the $660,000 deficit with cash reserves.

The other $330,000 was to be covered by 2.6 percent cuts from the budgets of every county department.

Partch said the New World program has revealed flaws in previously calculated expenses from several departments. Though revenue has grown with property taxes from the new Pullman Wal-Mart, he said, the new spending figures tilted the expected year-end budget balance.

Partch received his data from Esther Wilson, county systems administrator who worked as the county’s lone financial employee for most of last year.

Several county officials learned of the growing budget gap only after being questioned by reporters at Monday’s meeting.

“No one has shared any financial information with me at all,” said Prosecutor Denis Tracy.

“They’re hearing it now,” said Partch. “They haven’t had to worry about it yet, because it doesn’t impact their budgets until the end of the year when they run out of budget.”

Leaders showed up at Monday’s meeting of county commissioners for what they thought would be an update on the county’s finances. The meeting turned out to be a guise planned by Partch to draw a crowd to the presentation of the annual “commissioners’ choice” award which is given to the county’s employee of the year.

“I thought the finance meeting today would have some of that info,” said Health Department Director Fran Martin. “It was kind of disappointing we didn’t hear about the budget at all. We all would like to know something.”

Martin, Tracy, and Sheriff Brett Myers questioned Commissioner Pat O’Neill on the new deficit projection after being asked about it by media at Monday’s meeting.

Partch said he hoped to have the deeper cuts budget plan finalized by July.

“When we approved our budget last year, we kind of rubber stamped it knowing we would have to come back and look at the numbers,” said Partch.

Myers said finding more cuts from his budget halfway through the year will double the difficulty.

“We’re four months into the year, and this is the first we’ve heard about this,” said Myers. “This is alarming.”

Commissioner Pat O’Neill fielded questions from Myers, Martin and Tracy in his office following Monday’s meeting. He said he knew little about the specifics of the growth in the deficit,

“Do we have good, real, concrete numbers? No. But it’s not looking good,” he told them.

Commissioner Michael Largent said Monday was the first he had heard about the $1 million hole.

Covering the deficit with cash from the county’s treasury may be more difficult as that balance has shrunk this year.

During a meeting with Auditor Eunice Coker Monday morning, Partch said cash had dipped below $100,000 after April payroll was paid. Coker had again asked for the authority to hire two financial employees in her office instead of the one previously authorized finance director. Her request was denied.

The county’s cash dips in March and early April before property taxes are paid.

It also fell earlier this year when the county wrote off $247,000 that was marked on its ledger as invested but could not be found on bank statements.

Partch later said the cash dipped to a little above $200,000. He said the $100,000 figure was hyperbole to negotiate with Coker, but said the $200,000 figure still worried him that the county might fall short before second half property tax revenue is received in October.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to make it to October first this year,” said Partch.

The county has $1.2 million in a restricted reserve account that can only be tapped at commissioners’ discretion.