Illinois Valley News

The six-member Josephine County Budget Committee held its first two meetings of the current fiscal year on Tuesday, April 27 and Thursday, April 29 at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Downtown Grants Pass.

Members working on the fiscal 2010-11 budget include all three county commissioners, with Ron Strom, Larry West and Marie Hill. Strom previously has served on the committee, and Hill is the county“s former chief administrative officer.

Other than the committee, some 20 people were present at the April 27 meeting. It began with a presentation by Dick Cottrill, who was chairman of the county“s Elected Officials Compensation Committee.

Cottrill stated his committee“s recommendation that the county“s elected officials be given a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and that Sheriff Gil Gilbertson receive a 2 percent pay raise. The Compensation Committee formulated its recommendations based on comparisons with eight other counties using data provided by the Association of Oregon Counties.

But county Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli said that it is “inappropriate“ to compare the salary and benefits packages of Josephine County officials to those of their counterparts in other counties with similar populations. She suggested that the income level of county residents might be better grounds for comparison.

County Commissioner Dwight Ellis said that he examined the data used by the Compensation Committee members. He found that most of the other counties paid officials“ contributions toward the Public Employees Retirement System, and paid an average of $460 more per month toward medical benefits.

West, selected as chairman of the Budget Committee, said he that was concerned that the public might become upset if officials were given COLAs, in light of the economic recession. Cassanelli said that comparing officials“ compensation with those in neighboring Curry County would have been more prudent, as it and Josephine County have similar tax rates.

She then moved that no COLAs be given to elected officials, and Strom seconded. That motion passed 5-1, with Ellis dissenting.

County Chief Financial Officer Rosemary DeLashmutt reported that the county“s general fund balance is down 16 percent, as is revenue from the planning department. The contingency fund is down from 29 to 24 percent, she said, and the general fund budget is down 6 percent.

Despite that, DeLashmutt said that a 5 percent increase in property tax collection is anticipated this year, and timber sales from the county forestry program are up 33 percent.

Second Meeting Had Large Crowd

The auditorium was packed with approximately 100 people for the April 29 meeting, which included a pair of requests for general fund dollars.

The requests were for the animal shelter and veterans services programs. Six uniformed soldiers attended, and some audience members wore T-shirts to show support for the Humane Society.

Committee members continued their previous discussion regarding Gilbertson“s compensation. Cassanelli said that she contacted officials in Curry County and learned that its sheriff makes less than $66,000 per year.

“They“re paying a lot less for their sheriff than we are,“ Cassanelli said.

Commissioner Dave Toler countered that Curry County receives less revenue than Josephine County.

DeLashmutt reminded committee members that state statue requires county sheriffs to be paid more than anyone else in their departments. She said it could even be as little as $1 more.

Gilbertson took to the podium and stated his intention to reject any raise approved by the committee. He said that the economy is bad, and that his deputies have not asked for a raise in five years.

If given a raise, Gilbertson said, he will write a check back to the county at the end of the year for the full amount. His remarks earned a strong round of applause from audience members.

Ellis moved to increase Gilbertson“s salary by 2 percent as of Jan. 1, 2011. West seconded, and the motion was approved 6-0.

The salary of county Surveyor Peter Allen also was taken up by the Budget Committee.

An annual salary of $7,680 was recommended by the Compensation Committee, and DeLashmutt said that was calculated using a base of 20 hours per week at $32 per hour. She added that the change would not affect the budget.

West moved to approve the change, Ellis seconded, and the motion passed 6-0.

Lisa Shipley from the county“s veterans office gave a presentation to accompany her department request for $20,000 to hire half of a Full Time Equivalent (FTE) position for support staff to improve outreach efforts.

Josephine was the first county in Oregon to develop a veterans services office, Shipley said, and did so in 1944 to educate veterans on the various state and federal benefits available to them. She said that the program came under the county“s authority in 2006 and has been able to “thrive,“ bringing millions of dollars in veterans benefits back to the county.

The department serves between 2,000 and 2,500 veterans per year, a figure that could jump “rather significantly,“ Shivley said, with the recent return of some Iraq War veterans.

Ellis praised Shipley“s efforts. He described her department as one of the state“s best, and declared his intention to support the request.

“As far as I“m concerned, this is a no-brainer,“ said Ellis, a military veteran.

Toler move to approve the request, and Hill seconded. Cassanelli said that she planned to vote against the request.

“We don“t have spare money,“ Cassanelli said. “The county is faltering.“

Strom expressed his preference for approving the entire budget at once. Ellis countered that he wanted to vote on the request and move on, which prompted applause.

Toler“s motion passed 4-2, with Cassanelli and Strom dissenting.

Iraq War veteran David Tscherny confronted Cassanelli on her vote, and dared her to look him and the other veterans in the eye while denying them access to services. Cassanelli defended her vote.

“We“re not going to have a county if we continue to do this,“ she said.

Public Health Director Belle Shepherd detailed her request for $75,000 in general fund dollars for the Animal Control program. With those funds, she said Animal Control could have a staff of four FTE employees, be open to the public 22.5 hours and five days per week, and have two officers in the field.

For the 2009-10 fiscal year, Shepherd said that the department was budgeted for three FTE employees, and was open 22 hours and four days per week. One officer was in the field, she said.

Shepherd said that without the general fund dollars, Animal Control operations would be reduced to having two FTE employees, and be open six to 10 hours and two days per week, with one half-time officer in the field.

She added that the program is mandated by the county charter, and animals are at the shelter seven days per week, regardless of staffing levels.

Ellis said that he had e-mails of support from people who could not attend the meeting. He said that the county needs to shorten its response times for animal incidents, and that adding one more position would do that. If those calls are not handled by Animal Control, Ellis said, they will become the responsibility of the sheriff“s office.

Cassanelli said that increasing the number of FTEs in county government is “not appropriate.“ Gilbertson said that it would cost more to operate the program from his department.

Toler moved to approve and Ellis seconded. The motion passed 4-2, with Strom and Cassanelli dissenting.

The county is required to have a balanced budget passed before the beginning of the next fiscal year July 1.

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