Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
County Administrative Director Gary Petrovich presented a preliminary general fund expenditure budget to county commissioners Monday to consider for 2018.
The deficit was $102,714 on a total of $15,960,085.
“I have to commend the departments for being financially diligent and responsible,” said Petrovich.
The projected deficit number of $102,714 represents a significant drop from previous years.
Ten years ago, the initial budget deficit would often be in excess of a million dollars.
“Then you’d have to argue it down,” said Michael Largent, county commissioner since 2007. “We have a much better process than 10 years ago. The biggest difference is an ongoing conversation while these initial budgets are being developed.”
In 2014, the commissioners established an operating contingency fund of $100,000. This year, $80,000 of that has been used.
“That’s gone a long ways toward being able to have departments not putting extras in the budget they don’t need,” said Petrovich.
Petrovich’s 2018 preliminary budget includes an increase of $50,000 for restricted reserve funds.
“We just feel we need a little more cushion,” Largent said.
The two types of reserve funds within the general fund are restrictive reserve and operating reserve. Restrictive is used for emergencies such as a natural disaster. Operating reserve is used for unexpected events which are not emergencies. An example would be for the coroner’s office, if more deaths happen in a given year than expected.
The 2018 budget process began in June when commissioners sent a letter to all department heads and elected officials outlining what they hoped to see.
On Oct. 16 the commissioners will hold the required second public hearing for the general fund expenditure budget proposal.
“Any time you’re not faced with layoffs, that’s a good year,” Largent said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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