Josephine County plans to receive $12 million in O&C funds
Friday, May 25, President Bush signed a one-year extension of federal payments to timber-dependent counties with Josephine County standing to receive $12 million from the $425 million program -- the same amount it obtained last fiscal year.
Therefore, patrol by sheriff’s deputies will continue, using reserve funds, until the anticipated payment arrives in late October or early November, said Dave Toler, vice chairman of the county board of commissioners. The money will be included in the budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
County officials will have to adopt a supplemental budget in order to accept those funds, Toler said.
“I think that’s what we’re looking at,” Toler said. “We’ll reconvene the Budget Committee in early June.”
During its Thursday, May 17 meeting, the commissioners planned to place a public safety levy on the ballot in September. That action came two days after voters rejected a proposed three-year, $42.6 million levy for public safety.
However, the last-minute federal appropriation means that the county no longer will pursue a September levy.
Also on May 17, the county Budget Committee adopted the Service Level 1 budget, which did not include federal funds. Toler said that the county still will operate under that budget, meaning that many employees still will be laid off. But most of the cuts to public safety operations will be restored.
“Most of the budget will continue,” Toler said. “The libraries will still be closed and all the other cuts at all the other programs, we’re going to keep those, except criminal justice.”
Toler said a 5 percent reduction in public safety is “likely,” but will be accomplished through attrition.
“The sheriff’s office and D.A.’s office already had some budgeted positions not filled this fiscal year because of the hiring freeze,” Toler said. “Those positions will likely be reduced. People won’t be reduced, but there will be unfilled positions.”
County officials are planning to save a good portion of the anticipated federal funds, Toler said, in an attempt to bolster the county’s immediate financial future.
“It will probably be in the neighborhood of close to $5 million or it could be more that we will save, not spend, of this $12 million and put away,” Toler said. “We may find ourselves in a similar situation next year. But instead of having $5 million in reserves, we’ll have over $8 million.
“We’re preparing as much as we reasonably can to try and lessen the burden when we do have to do something next year.”
