Planning for 2013: County budget $833k short at starting line

Officials have asked for $833,597 more money than the county will likely have to spend next year, as the starter pistol fired for Whitman County’s 2013 spending plan.

Financial administrator David Ledbetter presented county commissioners Tuesday morning with the initial 2013 spending requests from each department in the county’s current expense budget.

Total spending requests for 2013 is $13,543,742. Revenue projections for next year are $12,710,145. Both numbers are down from the $14,193,916 budget of 2012.

“We’re already working with department leaders to try and get that number down before they begin to meet with commissioners,” said Ledbetter.

The 2012 budget was inflated by major capital expenditures and sales tax revenues from the Palouse Wind farm under construction on Naff Ridge in northern Whitman County.

Large projects like heating and cooling system upgrades in several buildings were paid against the projected property taxes that will be generated from the 58-turbine wind farm over the next 20 years, about $1.2 million.

Using that money for those projects offset what was initially a $1.5 million deficit in the 2012 budget.

County Administrator Gary Petrovich noted the current expense budget, which covers day-to-day expenses, typically ends the year well under budgeted levels.

Petrovich last month told county officials the 2012 spending plan will more likely end up around $12.7 million.

Petrovich, and Ledbetter, noted their goal this year is to draw up a budget that will be able to more closely match actual spending and will be sustainable over the next several years.

“We don’t want to just isolate 2013. We need to think about where we’re going to be in 2014 or 2015,” said Petrovich. “So if we do have to look at making cuts, it will be done with a long-term vision instead of just for the coming year’s balance sheet.”

Both were hired in 2010 after commissioners dismantled the former finance department and assigned its duties to several departments.

First Wind has paid full sales taxes on its wind farm construction. A state program that previously allowed wind farm builders to exempt all of their sales taxes now lets such companies take a 75 percent credit.

First Wind applied to the state department of revenue for a $4.3 million refund on its construction sales tax payments in April.

If that trend continues, and if First Wind’s sales taxes payments after the refund amount to the predicted $600,000 to $700,000, the county may end 2012 with a revenue surplus it can apply to the 2013 budget.

The county budgeted $500,000 in sales tax from the wind farm in its 2012 revenue figures.