Toler blasts budget perceptions
From our weekly issue dated May 06, 2009
Having served as a Josephine County commissioner during the past two years, Illinois Valley resident Dave Toler has become quite familiar with the county’s budget.
And he’s also become familiar with many of the criticisms that citizens lob at officials regarding where their tax dollars go.
Of particular concern to Toler are perceptions about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) county employees.
While Toler acknowledges that the state and federal governments have continued growing throughout the past few years, he said that the opposite is true for Josephine County.
“We’ve got that at the federal level, and got that at the same level, so I think some people assume that it must be the same way with local government,” he said. “But county government has been shrinking, the last few years in particular.”
During the 2002-03 fiscal year, the county had approximately 686 FTE employees. For fiscal year 2008-09, that figure dropped to 395, a 43 percent decrease.
As an added example, Toler said that the operations fund portion of the county’s budget went from $75 million in 2005-06 to $47 million this fiscal year.
However, the commissioner, who has served as board chairman and is now vice chairman, also admits that county government has lost the trust of many of its residents during the past few decades. That fact can create complications for current officials, he said.
“We have years of wrongs to right,” noted Toler. “We really do,” he said. “I have to recognize that every day. I have to step back and not take it personal and remember that this is the way we were for so many years. I have to understand that.”
Toler said that the county also has earned a reputation for excessive spending of federal dollars, but that it is no longer the case.
“We’re still getting federal dollars, but saving a ton of it,” Toler said. “That’s why we’ve been able to do a three-year plan. We’ve been saving those dollars for the last two to three years in particular.”
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During recent county budget hearings, some citizens asked if there is a long-term plan for funding. Toler said that any solution should involve the federal government, since that entity owns most of the land in the county.
“We have a three-year plan, but beyond those three years, we’re trying to work diligently with our federal legislators,” Toler said. “The bottom line is, we have to be able to know that the federal forest is going to supply economic activity and funding for the county three years from now more than it has for the last 16 years or so.
“That has to be part of the plan, frankly.”
Toler said that the county also is engaging in some economic development projects. One could potentially draw a call center to the area, which would create 50 jobs immediately and 150 within the next few years, he said.
“We’re doing what we can to woo them to Josephine County,” Toler said. “I’m doing what I can to offer any kind of incentives I can to get them here.”
Biomass projects also are being pursued by the county, he said.
“With the push and move towards renewable energy, that market is going to grow,” the commissioner stated.
Toler said that between better spending practices and an emphasis on economic development projects, Josephine County officials hope to demonstrate that they are doing their best to serve the public.
“We have to earn that respect back from the citizens,” he said. “You don’t do it overnight. It’s going to take years to earn that respect back.”
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