Auditor, sheriff, coroner report on budgets

Budget reviews for county departments continued on the afternoon of Oct. 10. These are preliminary budget previews for each department presented to the county commissioners.

Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker told commissioners that 2014 is a major election year with several county offices up for vote. When city or other elected officials run for office or with levies, those districts and the state pay for a share of the election. But next year with some county officials up for election, the county must pay, affecting the auditor’s office budget. Because of the election cycle, Coker asked the commissioners to look at her budget four years ago.

Coker also told commissioners that the department has cut back on a lot of overtime pay because of state online services the county offers such as myvote.com where voters can register and use other services through that site.

She also said the auditor’s office web site has never been updated and she hopes it can be next year.

The elections department has a new tabulator at a cost of a little more than $100,000 and replaced one tabulator that is about 10 years old. The office traded in an old machine and will use the other machine as a backup. In 10 years, the office will have enough money in the reserve fund saved for a new machine.

An official from the Secretary of State’s office will test and certify the new tabulator Oct. 23.

Coker also told commissioners that Whitman County is the first county in the state to purchase this particular kind of tabulator and she is expecting a visit from Thurston and Spokane counties elections officials to see the new tabulator work.

Coker said after the tabulator is certified, the staff cannot change anything on the machine until after the election is certified.

Coker said Americans with Disabilities Act officials recently said the elections office is not handicapped friendly because it lacks parking spaces.

Coker also said that because of interoffice management and training, the licensing department with four employees, could be whittled down to three.

“They will learn that it’s not as laid back as it is now, that it’s going to be a brisker place to work,” Coker said.

After the auditor’s report, Sheriff Brett Myers told commissioners that he sees no major changes in his department with the exception of increases in salaries and benefits.

Myers said he held off hiring a deputy for two years, but is now budgeting for that position in 2014.

Although Myers said his department doesn’t rely on state or federal grants for some programs, the federal grants he has are decreasing each year. The example he gave was the federal drug enforcement grant that in the past had a higher reimbursement rate. That grant is used for the Quad City Drug Task Force and dropped $50,000 last year. Myers said he hopes other federal funds will offset costs.

Myers said that his department has finally reached the minimum level of staffing, with 36 full-time employees, although he’s down one jailer.

“My hope is that we can maintain,” he told commissioners, even though he’s seeing an increase in call volume. “What I’d like to do is hold our ground,” he said.

“Our goal is to meet the needs of our citizens and of Whitman County,” Myers said. “I hope we can deliver the quality of service we have now.”

Commissioners Michael Largent and Art Swannack said they had both heard several compliments about the sheriff’s department.

“Criminal justice is the largest bite out of the budget,” Largent said. “We know you keep costs incredibly low.”

Myers noted that there are 18 employees in law enforcement and about 13 employees in the jail. “Our reserves come in and help us out,” he said.

The sheriff’s proposed budget for 2014 is $3,540,230.

Myers pointed out his department’s budget in 2011 and 2012 was $3.1 million. For this year the initial proposed budget was for $3.3 million.

Among cost increases is ammunition which has skyrocketed, he said.

Myers compared his budget with the Pullman Police Department, which has a budget of $5.5 million with 40 employees and seven square miles of responsibility.

WSU Police Department’s budget is $2.5 million, not including overtime for athletic events, with 21 employees and 2.2 square miles of responsibility. Neither Pullman nor WSU operates a jail.

Myers also cited several counties which devote a higher percentage of their budgets to law and justice, including Chelan, Jefferson, Pend Oreille and Franklin counties that devote between 26 and 32 percent of the general fund to the sheriffs’ offices.

He said more than 70 percent of the general funds of Snohomish, Jefferson, King, Pierce and Spokane counties goes to the sheriffs, prosecutors, jails and courts.

Whitman County appropriates less than 50 percent of the general fund to law and justice departments.

Myers said his department dealt with 500 criminal cases in 2012 that were referred to the prosecutor and he believes his department will handle more than 500 cases this year. He also said that property crime, crimes against people and drug-related crimes have all increased.

Traffic infractions have decreased 30 percent in the past two years, but case complexity and seriousness have increased. He said reduced staffing leads to reactive response, rather than being proactive. He said the ability to focus on prevention activities is limited, all of this a consequence of fewer officers.

Myers also said traffic infractions are down 30 percent in the past two years because of fewer officers, which means a decrease in revenue.

He also told commissioners that in 2012, Pullman was ranked the number one place in the state to raise a family because of public safety, schools, access to employment and investment in infrastructure.

Myers told the commissioners he was wearing $5,000 worth of equipment while seated in at budget session.

“This is not a cheap game,” he said. “The right tools cost money.”

Coroner Pete Martin followed the sheriff’s presentation.

Martin said he has four deputy coroners, all on contracts. They get paid only when called to duty. He said the department is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Martin said the average cost per autopsy is between $1,200 and $1,300, depending on the pathologist.

The average number of autopsies performed in a year is about eight, with some years up to 15, Martin said. However, this year, autopsies have been more complicated, some requiring toxicology tests, with the number at 58 so far. Martin said it could reach 100 by year’s end. He said the last couple of months in a year, his department usually sees one-third of the cases.

Martin said he sees no major expenses in the future.