BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s financial future will begin to take on substance today when the Quorum Court’s Finance Committee gets the preliminary version of the 2011 budget.
Michele Anderson, county accounting manager, was still working on the 2011 budget books Wednesday, checking and double-checking figures before sending the information out to the county’s justices of the peace.
The budget books will be available to sitting justices of the peace and those scheduled to takes seats on the Quorum Court in January. Anderson said Richard McComas, county comptroller, will brief Finance Committee members at a special meeting today. The justices of the peace will have an opportunity to study the information in the budget books before beginning a page-by-page review over the next few weeks.
Benton County Judge Dave Bisbee said the budget will be set by the Quorum Court, but the administration is responsible for providing the justices of the peace with the best information possible.
“I’ll speak to the Finance Committee (today),” Bisbee. “I’ll talk to them about a few things and be available to answer any questions. That’s what the executive needs to do anyway is to answer questions. The budget is really a Quorum Court function. I’ll make some projections, make sure they have good information — and with Richard that’s not a problem — and that’s about it.”
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen said the county’s budget process normally runs smoothly. Allen is chairman of th Personnel Committee, which is set for its first budget meeting Monday.
Allen said, in his experience, the preliminary budget work done by McComas, working with the county’s elected officials and department heads, has minimized problems. Having someone on hand to explain to the Quorum Court how the preliminary budget was put together also helps, he said.
“Sometimes the department heads or elected officials will make presentations, sometimes they’ll go through Richard and only answer questions if they come up,” Allen said. “Richard is definitely the filter on the budget.”