County Reserve Sees Multimillion Increase

Justices Of The Peace Will Decide What To Do With Money

FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County officials will have to decide how to spend millions of dollars in taxpayer reserve.

Some want new bridges; others want to keep enough cash to operate for three months. Some have tinkered with returning those dollars via a property tax cut, but that depends on revenue and expenses, a justice of the peace said.

The county’s budgeted reserve receives an annual, multimillion boost from unspent money.

Justices of the peace will review an ordinance Thursday that finalizes a 2013 budget line item known as carryover. The carryover is unspent cash transferred as revenue from one year to another by county departments.

By The Numbers

Carryover

Carryover is unspent cash transferred as revenue from one year to another by county departments.

2013 $20,507,347

2012 $23,855,115

2011 $26,126,701

2010 $25,853,323

Source: Washington County

Thursday’s ordinance will increase the unappropriated reserve by $3.4 million to $13.7 million, as the county closes its books. Unappropriated reserve is money that has not been approved by justices of the peace for expenditure by full-time officials, such as the county judge and sheriff.

The $3.4 million increase comes as county officials returned $20.5 million in carryover from their 2012 budgets, according to county records. That’s $3.3 million less than the unspent cash from 2011.

“I thought it might be a little bit more than that,” said County Judge Marilyn Edwards. “I don't know why.”

Operating costs for an animal shelter and less property tax revenue are among the key reasons, said Cheryl Bolinger, comptroller.

Justices of the peace will decide what to do with money in budget planning sessions later this year.

Justice of the Peace Tom Lundstrum wants to have enough money in reserve to operate the county for three months.

“Last year (Treasurer) Roger Haney thought we needed $15 million in reserves to protect the county in case of an emergency of some kind. I would like to see us obtain a reasonable reserve. With that kind of reserve, I still would like to see the property tax reduced by a half mill.”

The Quorum Court cut property taxes in 2011. The general fund millage dropped by half a mill to 3.9 mills, costing $1.5 million in 2012. Taxpayers got about a $10 cut on a $100,000 property.

Haney denies he said $15 million and said he recommends the county keep 10 percent of its annual revenue or three month’s worth of expenditures.

Ten percent of the county’s 2013 projected revenue is $7.8 million. Expenditures for the first three months of this year total $16.9 million.

Edwards said Friday she supported keeping the reserve equal to 10 percent of the county’s revenue.

“I am not in favor of reducing the millage,” said Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison. “It goes to too few people, and I think it's better returned to the people by providing services they can see like paved roads or building bridges. I think that's the best way to return the money to the people.”

Harbison and Edwards last month began discussing spending about $5 million to replace several bridges over the coming years.

“We need bridges and do everything we can to improve our roads,” Edwards said.

Justice of the Peace Barbara Fitzpatrick said she supported keeping a three-month reserve, but she also doesn’t mind dipping into that reserve to pay unexpected requests from officials such as funding for new staff.

A natural disaster could cause the county to spend a considerable amount of cash, such as the tornado that struck western Washington County two years ago.

“If that happened in Fayetteville on our south campus that has our jail, animal shelter, road department, it would take us considerably more than three months of running room,” Fitzpatrick said.

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