FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County officials have made little progress in trimming next year's spending despite warnings of less revenue to go around, suggesting tough decisions lie ahead over which county services are cut back.
The Quorum Court met Tuesday evening to approve 2015 budget requests for the animal shelter, Road Department, information technology and veteran services. After Tuesday's votes, the Quorum Court has given preliminary approval to $41 million in spending, roughly two-thirds of the annual budget.
Meeting Information
Budget Process
Washington County Quorum Court
When: 5:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Quorum Courtroom of the County Courthouse, 280 N. College Ave., Fayetteville
On the agenda: 2015 budget requests for fire protection, ambulance, coroner, Health Department, HIV clinic and extension service
That number could still change dramatically, as several departments still must make their requests. Nothing is set until the Quorum Court votes on the overall budget, likely sometime in November.
So far, next year's budget is shaping up to 0.7 percent less. Meanwhile, Roger Haney, treasurer, this month projected next year's sales taxes and other revenue would drop 6.4 percent, falling from $82 million this year to $76.5 million in 2015.
Correction
A previous version of this story contained incorrect figures for Roger Haney's projections. The error has been corrected.
Haney plans to revise his forecast at least once before the final budget, but his projection has hung like a cloud over the discussions.
"I'm not going to be able to support this in its current form at all," said Eva Madison, a Democrat from Fayetteville, referring to the Road Department's $10.4 million request, which is up slightly from this year. "I'll just say it again, folks: We've got our work cut out for us."
Even reduced, next year's revenue would be enough to cover next year's budget if spending held steady at this year's $63 million. But a tenth of the revenue forecast is essentially ignored by the panel as a precaution against forecast error, and the Quorum Court strongly prefers to have at least $10 million more set aside in reserve.
These precautions mean something has to make up the difference. Higher taxes are an option, but most of the panel appears to favor budget cuts, including some Democrats.
"I'm not going to raise taxes -- I will never vote for it, ever," said Candy Clark, a Fayetteville Democrat, echoing her Republican counterparts.
As of Tuesday, the justices of the peace have been unable to agree on where the cuts should be made. No request yet has been denied. Many departments, such as law enforcement and emergency services, simply must be paid for, the justices of the peace have said.
"Roads is one of those areas I don't want to see cut in any way," Ann Harbison of West Fork, a Democrat, said emphatically Tuesday. She pointed to the department's work repairing old, mostly rural bridges across the county, including several within her district.
Several departments have offered cuts of their own. The Information Technology Department on Tuesday, for example, requested about $1.1 million, down 14 percent from this year. Officials at the animal shelter have complained of overworked and overwhelmed staff, but they too requested less: $645,000, down 1 percent.
Much more may still need to be trimmed, however, said Republican Tom Lundstrum of Elm Springs.
"There may be a point when we have to live within our means," he said.
Budget discussions continue Monday, when the Quorum Court will consider requests for fire protection, the Health Department and other areas.
NW News on 09/17/2014