Officials Propose Less Dollars

— Most spending proposals for 2013 given Monday by Washington County full-time elected officials and a circuit judge showed efforts to budget less taxpayer dollars next year than what was budgeted this year.

The county’s Budget Committee of the Whole tentatively approved general fund spending proposals from the county’s treasurer, tax collector, assessor and Circuit Judge William Storey showing some cuts or flat spending in 2013 for five of six budget requests.

By The Numbers

Budgets

2012 2013

Circuit Court Division I $85,438 $81,263

Detention Judicial Officer $62,551 $62,551

Assessor $1,858,965 $1,774,734

Equalization Board $1,258,864 $1,268,862

Tax Collector $1,134,221 $1,115,721

Treasurer $282,445 $260,619

Source: Staff Report

The committee and the full Quorum Court will adopt a budget later this year once it finalizes and matches 2013 revenue projections with spending proposals. Treasurer Roger Haney has said he expects to finalize his projections by next month, at the latest.

In the meantime, committee members after Monday’s meeting said they were optimistic — yet still cautious without hearing all proposals — about reaching the group’s goal to balance the 2013 budget without using the county’s multimillion dollar reserves.

Storey proposed an $81,263 budget for 2013, down 4.8 percent from this year’s $85,438 budget, according to Monday’s budget documents. So far this year, his office has spent less than 45 percent of 2012’s budget. Storey however said budgeting costs such as payments to jury members and witnesses are difficult to predict.

Storey budgeted $49,300 next year for jury and witness payment. He budgeted $50,000 this year and has so far spent $19,609. In 2011, his office spent $24,328.

A three-day trial usually cost the county about $1,800, Storey said. Sometimes, lawyers will estimate a trial length to three days, but actually finish in one day, he said. Other times, the opposite happens, he said.

“That’s just the problem,” Storey said. “I’ve tried everything I know ... to figure this thing out. It’s incapable, I think of being figured out.”

Assessor Jeff William’s 2013 budget showed $84,231 less in spending from this year’s $1.9 million budget. However, the county’s Equalization Board budget, prepared by Williams, showed an increase of nearly $10,000 from this year’s $1.25 million budget.

Williams wants to spend $178,800, or an extra $121,800, next year in more precise aerial photography of all county parcels taken every year. This year, the county budgeted $57,000 for its contract with Pictometry International Corp, based in New York but with a local office, he said.

By getting better quality and more precise photographs of real estate property, Williams said he hopes it would give county assessors the capability to assess property from their desks instead of driving and physically inspecting most county property.

Williams cut other areas from the board’s budget to help offset the increase cost in aerial photography.

Fayetteville’s Candy Clark, committee chairwoman, and Justice of the Peace Rex Bailey of Springdale both said they were hopeful in reaching a balanced budget after the meeting. Clark said County Judge Marilyn Edward’s spending proposals, yet to be reviewed, will make the difference in reaching their goal.

Bailey, who’s never voted for a budget in his two terms, said his trend could change.

“I’m not saying I’m going to vote for the budget yet, but I’m leaning toward it,” Bailey said. “I feel a lot more comfortable voting for it. ... I think it comes from us paying more attention to the budget. And I appreciate the officials because I’ve been one of the most stringent complainants.”

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