County delays decision on weed budget over time

Whitman County Commissioners Monday conducted hearings on the second amendment to this year’s budget and the 2017 budget.

The county weed department was present to request the budget amendment, totaling $5,238 for overtime work. Peggy Wright, county weed coordinator, explained to the commissioners her duties which have contributed to the overtime she has worked. Among these were pulling weeds on county road sides, bio collection, overseeing spray jobs for trails, working with the Corps of Engineers at Almota and checking product at nurseries for noxious weeds, among other duties.

“I’ve worked by myself since 2005,” said Wright. “We don’t get every weed, but we make a difference.”

Wright pointed out that there are 2,178 square miles in the county for her to cover by herself.

Neal McCall, a weed board member, said that Wright is doing the work of several people.

“You’re asking one person to do the work of all the previous people,” he said.

The board said this amendment presents challenges.

“The challenge for us as a board is to figure out where to make cuts,” said Commissioner Michael Largent. “The monies being presented to us by the state are less.”

Commissioner Art Swannack stated there is not enough money in the budget to cover “everything we’d like to do.”

“The department manager has to manage the budget to stay within the budget,” said Swannack. “Overtime was not budgeted.”

Auditor Eunice Coker was also present, and she expressed her frustration with the discussion.

“You’ve got a person who has worked more than 40 hours a week and has put it in as comp time,” she said. “Work needed to get done; it got done. How can you not pay this employee for the time they’ve worked?”

“We’re going to have a lot of difficult conversations as we move into 2017,” Largent responded. “This is one of them. I don’t like it. This money needs to come from somewhere.”

Commissioner Dean Kinzer said the request puts the board in a hard place.

“Trying to honor their request is difficult, if not impossible,” he said.

The matter was ultimately not voted on at the meeting, but the commissioners voted to take more time to review the request and plan to discuss it at their meeting Monday, Oct. 24, at 9 a.m. in the courthouse.

The conversation then shifted to the 2017 budget plan. The county is currently looking at a proposed budget with a deficit totaling approximately $140,000.

“We’ve got to find $140,000 somewhere,” said Largent.

Coker immediately brought the discussion back to the weed department.

“I’ve also heard the weed department has been told they can’t budget overtime for 2017,” she said. “The weed department is important to this entire agriculture community... It’s just embarrassing to me and wrong that you’re going to … hold her to an ancient budget amount and still expect the work to get done.”

Largent said this issue is not unfamiliar to most county departments.

“The weed board is just one of many. Most departments have compelling needs,” he said. “Where do we find for 2017 the $140,000 we need? We hear every day the compelling needs in the departments.”

Largent reminded those present that most of the funds the county has are determined by the state.

“The commissioners do not generate revenue,” he said. “The state holds both the cost drivers and the purse strings.”

McCall then made a comment to the commissioners.

“I think we still see you guys take your pay increases,” he said.

“I’m not going to interfere with the independence of the salary commission,” explained Largent. “I’ve never lobbied them or attempted to at any time. That’s not my call.”

Doug Meyer, another member of the weed board, said jobs need to get done despite what the budget is.

“You just have to go until the job’s done,” he said. “I just think Peggy needs a little bit of leeway.”

Commissioner Swannack said there is not leeway in the budget.

“The reality is, we only have so many dollars to work with. You don’t spend money unless you have it. There isn’t more money,” he said. “We all like to be perfect, but we may have to live with an 85 percent job instead of a 100 percent job.”

Wright said her department would receive a number of complaints if she operated that way.

“I’ll pass the complaint onto you guys, then,” she said.

Commissioner Kinzer said the concern in the budget is trying to figure out how to balance state mandates with the needs of the county.

“We cannot avoid doing some things,” he said. “We have to look at other areas not covered by state statutes.”

He gave the example of the coroner’s budget, which he described as an estimate.

“There’s no way you can control the number of deaths you have in the county,” said Kinzer. “There’s things we cannot cut back on. We are looking at those things that are required by statutes.”

Largent said he wants to see more discussions with the state regarding the budget.

“This type of thing is the least enjoyable thing of what I am charged with doing,” he said. “We are passing down what the state is passing to us. Much of this conversation needs to be had with the state legislature, and trust me, we are.”

Public hearings for the 2017 budget are now concluded, but Largent said the board would still take comments.

“The doors are still open, phone lines are still there,” he said.