Commissioners begin ‘what now’ for 2012 budget

After learning last week the first draft of Whitman County’s 2012 budget is more than $1.5 million in the hole, commissioners Monday began discussing how they want to balance next year’s spending plan.

“I think we all can agree we’re not here to micromanage each department’s budgets,” said Commissioner Greg Partch.

Department leaders in the county’s current expense operating fund predicted revenues of $12,109,117, which is $1,549,495 shy of the $13,658,612 they expect to spend next year.

Administrative Director Gary Petrovich said he double-checked the revenue projections of Treasurer Robert Lothspeich.

“I went down and asked him if he wasn’t too convervative - by about $1.5 million,” said Petrovich. “He said ‘no.’”

Partch noted pending agreements with the county’s five labor unions could increase the deficit even further.

“I think its time to start picking the fruit that’s a little higher on the tree, as opposed to the low hanging fruit we got last year,” said Commissioner Michael Largent.

So now, Petrovich will approach department heads to see if they have any padded spending items in their initial budget proposals. First, he will go to the Sheriff, the courts and the health departments, which together account for roughly half the county’s budget.

“You’ve got to fish where the fish are,” said Petrovich.

If those budgets can not be cut any further, however, commissioners will have to prioritize which services to cut back on first.

Largent noted many services are required by contracts currently in place or are funded by grants that require that money be spent for those services.

Commissioner Pat O’Neill added services required by state law would also have to be taken off the chopping block.

That means balancing next year’s budget could cost the county’s citizens desired services like parks and 4H.

“This is a situation where you could do the right thing and get voted out of office,” said Largent, who noted the one county commission meeting he attended before taking office was when the county was considering cutting 4H funding in 2005.

Commissioner Greg Partch said he would like to see services preserved, just at a lesser level.

“My plan B is the possibility of going to a 36-hour work week,” said Partch.

Partch said after Monday’s meeting he would propose, if necessary, that courthouse workers switch to four nine-hour work days.

By doing so, he said, employees would be able to have a steady schedule which would allow them to save child care expenses and possibly find an extra weekend job.

Partch also said he sees spending savings by doing away with the county’s parks department and having voters decide on a countywide parks district.

By proposing that, he said, the county could save the expense of running the parks while giving voters an option to fund them through an additional property tax levy. Partch added the parks districts of the county’s smaller towns could also be folded into the district.

Largent, though, said voters may not be willing to tax themselves any more than they already are.

“I don’t think that would go over too well,” said Largent. “We can’t even pass a school bond. And that’s mom, baseball and apple pie.”