Fed extension boosts JoCo coffers

Last week, the Josephine County Board of Commissioners suspended the layoff of approximately 50 criminal justice system employees after President Bush signed a bill that included monies for O&C counties for one year.

Josephine County anticipates that it will receive approximately $12 million in October for fiscal year 2007-08, the same amount received for fiscal year 2006-07.

The board has requested that the Budget Committee be reconvened Thursday, June 7 to discuss and approve a revised budget for the Public Safety Fund which includes the operations of sheriff, district attorney and Juvenile Justice. Staffing is proposed to be comparable to the current year including approximately 88 full-time equivalents in the sheriff’s office.

The proposed budget would include the one-time transfer of $4.8 million from the General Fund and the one-year allocation of $12 million from O&C funds.

Approximately $6 million would be placed in contingency (reserves) for local law enforcement purposes for fiscal year 2008-09. General Fund would receive no O&C monies. Public Health will add back staff to cover the increased level of inmates (from 70 to 140) in the jail health clinic.

All other offices, divisions, and program budgets would remain at Service Level 1 with no expected increases, resulting in approximately 45 employees who were laid off Thursday, May 31.

Although Josephine County will receive one more year of O&C funding, the budget being proposed by the county commissioners reflects their commitment to continued paring county expenditures.

By putting approximately half of the federal payment into public safety reserves, this budget will provide approximately $9.3 million in overall reserves (including more than $3.3 million in General Fund contingencies) at the end of the fiscal year.

“This assures us that we will be better prepared to meet the fiscal challenges that may face us next year,” said the county board

The Budget Committee will review Public Safety and Public Health Budgets Thursday, June 7 between 6 and 8 p.m. at Anne Basker Auditorium, 604 N.W. Sixth St. in Downtown Grants Pass, adjacent to the county courthouse.

The public can attend.