Illinois Valley News

A $107 million budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year was approved by the six-member Josephine County Budget Committee as part of a 50-minute meeting on Thursday evening, May 6 at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass.

The approved budget compares to the $105 million budget for the current fiscal year. The estimated tax rate for the new budget remains unchanged at $0.59 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

Two days prior to the May 6 session, during another meeting in the auditorium, the committee heard a variety of presentations from county department managers.

Planning Director Michael Snider stated that a raise in his department“s fees, approved in 2007 and 2008, did not succeed in making the department self-sufficient and independent of the county general fund.

The planning department required $62,715 in general fund support for the 2008-09 fiscal year, Snider said, and $75,668 in 2009-10.

He said that projected fee revenue for 2010-11 is approximately $401,200, with projected expenditures of $509,000, leaving a shortfall of $107,800 to be made up through the general fund.

However, Snider noted that fee revenue to the department has risen during the first few months of 2010, compared to original projections.

County Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli stated that because of the economic downturn and fewer development projects occurring in the county, the planning department should be cut. Snider countered that many of the projects the department is working on are long-term.

Cassanelli stated that even though the county is “starving,“ it is still increasing its number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees.

“I don“t think it“s justified,“ Cassanelli said.

Public Health Director Belle Shepherd requested $50,000 in franchise fees collected from the collection and disposal of solid waste. That money previously has gone to the public works department, Shepherd said, but that agency has no plans to use it during the coming fiscal year beginning July 1.

Of that amount, Shepherd said that $10,000 would go toward solid waste cleanup. The rest would ensure that public health can respond to all of the solid waste complaints it receives.

County Commissioner Dave Toler stated that he would only support the request if it had a “net zero“ effect on the county general fund.

Juvenile Justice Director Janine Wilson related that her department“s operating costs will be $2.5 million. That will be partly offset by a projected $942,900 in revenues, she said, but will have to be bolstered by $1.5 million in public safety fund dollars.

Sheriff Gil Gilbertson stated that his department“s total budget went from $10.7 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year to $11.5 million. Funds for personnel services went from $8 million to $8.7 million, he said, with the number of employees increasing from 95 to 100. Four of those five new positions will be funded by a pair of grants.

Because of the additional staffing, Gilbertson said, the county now has around-the-clock emergency coverage, a traffic enforcement unit, directed patrols in problem areas and better enforcement of failure-to-appear warrants.

More people are posting bail and showing up to court as a result, Gilbertson said.

The Thursday, May 6 meeting was sparsely attended, as most audience members were county department heads and elected officials.

County Commissioner Dwight Ellis moved to deny the request from public health for the $50,000 in solid waste franchise fees and an additional $25,000 that also would have been transferred to public works, for a total of $75,000.

His motion included providing $20,000 less in general fund support to the planning department. That was intended to provide $95,000 to offset general fund requests granted by the committee Thursday, April 29 to add personnel to the animal control and veterans services departments.

Toler seconded the motion, which passed 6-0. He later moved to approve the $107 million budget, which includes funding for 557.4 FTE positions. Marie Hill, committee member and former county chief operations officer, seconded.

Ellis stated that the county had 393 FTEs during 2007, down from 600 in previous years. Those reductions stemmed from closure of the county“s library branches in 2007, the privatization of its mental health services in 2006 and elimination of some management positions within the organization, he said.

A recent court decision reversing the mental health privatization will add more than 100 positions back to the county, Ellis said.

Hill prefaced her remarks by stating that she worked for the county for nearly 30 years. She said that cuts made earlier this decade caused a “huge morale issue“ for “valuable county employees.“

Toler added that the cuts made by the county to law enforcement caused “damage“ that still is being felt in the service level.

Committee Chairman Larry West noted that among committee members, a “majority of the people are betting on the upside“ and expect the economy to recover. He said that if revenues don“t match those expectations, county officials can correct it at mid-year.

Cassanelli said that if new revenues are needed, county residents will not support more taxes, because they haven“t in the past.

“I don“t think it“s leadership to spend every last dime that you have,“ she said.

Toler “called the question,“ a parliamentary procedure aimed at ending discussion and forcing a vote.

The motion by Toler to approve the budget passed 4-2, with Cassanelli and committee member Ron Strom dissenting.

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