Wednesday, June 11, 2003
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Wednesday, June 11, 2003 |
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County to lower taxes, freeze hiring By JOHN THOMPSON
When the dust had settled Monday afternoon after nearly eight hours of budget hearings, Fayette County's constitutional officers learned just how tight this year's county budget is being stretched. The Fayette County Commission heard pleas from the Clerk of Court and the Sheriff's Department about new personnel needs, but both got the same response from the board: No. This year's $44.4 million budget is actually $200,000 less than last year's budget, said Commission Chairman Greg Dunn. "We're still providing the same services, and not cutting any positions" he said. The total budget, including all funds, is $66.06 million compared to last year's $67.1, which will allow the board to actually drop the millage rate slightly. Finance Director Mark Pulliam is going to recommend the incorporated millage rate be rolled back from 7.116 to 6.786, while unincorporated residents would see the rate drop from 6.198 to 5.908. Everyone's fire rate would fall from 3.58 to 3.45. While the news is good for taxpayers, Fayette's department heads are going to have to make do with less this year. The only department that saw an increase in its budget was the Sheriff's Department, which increased a little over 10 percent to just over $12 million. Superior Court Clerk Sheila Studdard wanted to add two new court clerk positions in the state court and nine new positions in superior court, but was only granted a temporary worker. "Our pledge is to not add any new positions this year," said Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham. Studdard said her office has been overwhelmed with real estate documents and still had 17 boxes of documents to enter into the computer system. The commissioners told Studdard she could use an employee from the county's administration office for up to six months to get the data entered. Studdard said the new courtroom floor plan now ensures that a clerk must be available on two floors of the building while court is going on, and she also needed additional personnel to maintain the integrity of the vault where the documents are stored. Commissioner Linda Wells told Studdard when she entered the hearing the board would not support any new personnel requests, but Studdard wanted to be heard. "This is my only opportunity, and I feel like I owe it to my people," she said. Studdard did manage to squeeze a little more overtime for her budget. The Finance Department had recommended $1,500 for overtime in the state clerk's office, but the board bumped it up to $3,000. Studdard also got slightly more money in the superior court office, with the budget increased from $9,500 to $10,000. After Studdard got grilled for more than an hour, Sheriff Randall Johnson and staff from his department spent more than two hours justifying their budget requests. Representatives from the different divisions of the departments, including the jail and patrol divisions were looking for 37 additional personnel this year. But just like Studdard's request, it was turned down. Johnson was able to take care of a long-term employee, though. The department has recently closed down its kitchen and is letting a private company operate the business. The department decided to outsource the business when three cooks quit. But the remaining employee is an 18-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department and Johnson wanted to keep her in his department. "This is real important to us," he said. Johnson had suggested making her housekeeping supervisor to monitor the cleaning in the administration buildings. But since this was a new position, the board could not accept the recommendation. "I believe in helping our longtime employees, but that would violate our policy of no new positions this year," said Commissioner VanLandingham. Dunn had suggested seeing if the worker could fill one of the open positions already available in other county departments. "I want her to stay in our department. She's a good worker and we can trust her around classified information," Johnson said. In the end, the department decided to reclassify an open deputy position as an administrative position to allow the worker to remain in the department. "I just want you to realize that you're losing this position," Dunn said. The board also cut many of the travel and conference-related costs for all departments this year. In another move, the board told Solicitor General Steve Harris that he would no longer be able to drive a county car to and from work. Harris had paid taxes on the vehicle, and said he needed it to go to crime scenes and transport witnesses to court. The board had set a policy in the late 90s that county vehicles could only be used by people in public safety. Harris said he would gladly give back the car to the county, but said his department needed to use it for witness transport. "I don't think there's any taxicab companies around here," he said. The board agreed to allow the department to keep the vehicle. Included in this year's budget is a 2.4 percent cost of living adjustment for all county employees. A public hearing on the entire budget is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at the County Administrative Complex at Stonewall Avenue.
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