Commissioners to decide next week on 2012

Whitman County commissioners will vote on the wind-aided budget for 2012 next Monday.

A second public hearing on the $57 million spending plan garnered neither support nor opposition Monday morning.

The budget is balanced by anticipated revenues from the Palouse Wind wind farm under construction on Naff Ridge between Oakesdale and Rosalia.

“What really made the difference of our whole budget was windmills,” said Commissioner Greg Partch.

Construction sales taxes from the wind farm chopped $500,000 off the initial $1.5 million deficit. Departmental cuts sliced that even further.

Finalizing the balanced plan is commissioners’ decision to pay for some budgeted capital expenses by borrowing against anticipated property tax revenue from the wind farm.

The IT hardware and a payment to plan for a remodel of the courthouse were initially slotted to take $353,000 from the 2012 operating budget. Removal of those items chopped the budget deficit from $401,155 to $47,000.

Commissioners plan to borrow from the public works budget to cover the up front costs, repaying the loan with property taxes from the Palouse Wind project.

Assessor Joe Reynolds projects the county’s current expense budget will receive $1.2 million in property taxes over the next 20 years.

That gap could be offset by leftover cash reserves commissioners dedicated to balance the 2011 budget. When the current year’s spending plan was approved, commissioners decided to balance it with $330,000 from the reserve funds.

Administrative Director Gary Petrovich reported 2011 at this point appears to need about $220,000 of the reserve fund to balance. That would leave $110,000 which the commissioners could use next year, enough to fill the $47,000 hole.

One factor not included in the 2102 budget is the potential impact from union contracts. The county is currently negotiating with unions representing road, solid waste and courthouse employees, as well as sheriff’s deputies.

Commissioners also plan to put new heating and air conditioning systems in the jail and information technology building and purchase IT hardware next year. Those items total $906,000.