Committee Advances 2013 Budget

Treasurer Gave Final Revenue Projection Of $40.7 Million

— For the first time since elected, Justices of the Peace Tom Lundstrum and Rex Bailey might vote to adopt a Washington County budget in December.

The two Republicans, along with nine other justices of the peace, unanimously approved at a Budget Committee meeting Thursday passing the 2013 budget to the Quorum Court. Justices of the Peace Rick Cochran and Joe Patterson were absent.

By The Numbers

2013 Budget

Washington County’s projected revenue and budget for 2013:

w Total revenue: $78,185,209

General fund: $40,716,694

All other funds: $37,468,515

w Total budget: $59,494,011

General fund: $26,751,208

All other funds: $32,742,803

Source: Staff Report

The committee earlier this year set a goal to adopt a budget without using reserve money. Quorum Court members required elected officials to present their budgets for a line-by-line item review.

No one really spoke about the goal during the meeting, but the county will bring in more revenue than what elected officials plan to budget next year.

“That’s to the credit of us and to the credit of the budget heads who brought these budgets in the way we asked them to do it,” said Democrat Justice of the Peace Candy Clark, committee chairwoman.

Treasurer Roger Haney gave his final revenue projection of $40.7 million for the general fund. That amount includes $23.6 million in new revenue, plus $17.1 million in “carryover.” The term, Haney said, includes the $13.2 million in reserve plus 10 percent of this year’s revenue required to be unspent by state law, unless needed.

The $23.6 million plus 2013’s 10 percent hold back of $4.1 million equals $27.7 million in new revenue. Elected officials requested to spend $26.8 million next year or a $934,273 difference. That includes a last minute $480,000 addition to renovate space at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The 2013 spending budget is $2.2 million less than this year’s $28.9 million general fund budget. This year’s general fund budget included $2 million to build an animal shelter that won’t be spent next year.

“I’m very proud of the department heads who did not play an inordinate amount of game with us,” Clark said. “They gave us their budgets. Some of them cut. Some of them needed more, but by George, they had an explanation.”

The assessor’s 2013 $1.8 million budget is $44,830 less than this year, according to an appropriation summary. The county clerk’s $511,591 budget is $67,316 more than this year. That includes money to pay for new equipment, such as stamps, and letterhead for newly-elected County Clerk Becky Lewallen.

“I believe I will vote for this budget because we have made an effort to reign in and control the money,” said Lundstrum, who took office six years ago.

Bailey, who took office in 2009, said he’ll likely vote next month for the budget because of the line-by-line item effort done this year. Democrat Justice of the Peace Eva Madison and Lundstrum spearheaded the effort early this year for that type of budget review.

“This was a bipartisan year,” Bailey said. “Democrats and Republicans both came together to accomplish what we did.”

The committee’s remaining three meetings have been canceled with its approval of the budget.

Haney left out one projection he usually makes. He said he didn’t estimate the unspent cash normally returned by department heads when the county closes its books on 2012 in March. That money will go into the reserve.

“It’ll be a Christmas in March for you,” Haney said.

Upcoming Events