FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County officials are scrambling to figure out where to make major cuts to the 2016 budget by Tuesday in the wake of last week's Quorum Court mandate to reduce spending next year, they said.
"We are still at the drawing board, hoping," said Sheriff Tim Helder.
At a glance
Justices of the peace continue to try to reduce the county’s $62 million budget and put more money into unappropriated, unrestricted general fund reserves. The Quorum Court approved Thursday a 2 percent aggregated reduction to general fund, jail and road funds — surprising elected officials. Departments are looking at ways to cut — including layoffs — to present to justices Tuesday.
Source: Staff report
Budget meeting
Elected officials and department directors said they plan to attend the finance meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the courthouse to present ideas for budget cuts. The budget, which justices have reviewed for months, must be approved by the end of December.
Source: Staff report
The Sheriff's Office is considering layoffs.
The Tax Collector Office may close the branch office in Lincoln.
Road Department projects will be cut.
Other departments are looking at trimming salaries, training, traveling or equipment, officials said.
The Quorum Court amended the 2016 budget to include a 2 percent reduction in the roughly 50 departments funded by general, road and jail funds. The move should shave about $1 million from the budget and help beef up the county's unrestricted, unappropriated general-fund reserves, justices of the peace said.
Treasurer Bobby Hill has said county spending is outpacing projected new revenue by roughly $2 million.
The Quorum Court has not decided on a goal for reserves, but several justices of the peace said the minimum is $6 million. Unappropriated, unrestricted general-fund reserves were at $5,594,824 on Nov. 16, according to a budget summary.
Justices of the peace tried going line by line to make more reductions but feel elected officials and department directors might be able to help, said Justice of the Peace Rick Cochran, R-Fayetteville.
Justice of the Peace Joel Maxwell, R-Siloam Springs, who made the motion to reduce the budgets, said after the Quorum Court meeting the motion is meant to create dialogue between the justices of the peace and elected officials about necessary reductions.
The idea is to let elected officials pick and choose where the cuts will be made and in which departments, Cochran said.
"This is just a chance to see what they can do," he said.
But, the cuts are severe, elected officials said.
Comptroller Cheryl Bolinger on Tuesday released a "2016 Department Budget by Category" spreadsheet that shows amounts for 2 percent cuts in the affected departments. About 18 areas are not affected, such as employee insurance and county library.
The Road Department is facing a $172,514 reduction. Some road projects will not happen, George Butler, chief of staff for the county judge, wrote in an email.
At the Sheriff's Office, enforcement would be cut $139,651 and jail operations would be trimmed $285,806.
Justice of the Peace Tom Lundstrum, R-Springdale, voted for the cuts, but on Tuesday, he said he is worried the cuts could hurt the county's ability to provide the best law enforcement.
"I just don't think the Sheriff's Office can cut his budget anymore," Lundstrum said. "He's right at the bare bones."
Making The Cut
The total overall cuts are $556,333 for the general fund, $172,514 for the road fund and $285,806 for the jail fund.
Inside those large funds are departments with smaller cuts that may still have a large impact on county services, directors said.
The county attorney office might have to cut pay or stop traveling, printing or using supplies for work, said County Attorney Steve Zega.
Tax Collector David A. Ruff said he is expected to cut $24,722, which may cost rural residents an office.
Ruff posted online and told residents last week the Quorum Court's decision will mean the closure of the Lincoln office.
"It has really hampered every elected official in Washington County," Ruff said.
Ruff's message urged people to call justices of the peace. By Tuesday evening, at least two justices of the peace said they had been called by residents worried about the closure.
Cochran said the office is not mandated to close -- officials are supposed to decide what is a priority and work together to reduce the budget, he said.
"They don't have to do it that way -- that's their choice," Cochran said.
The Quorum Court cut last year's budget by about $4 million overall, officials said. Department heads had no input to what was cut, Cochran said.
Many departments were cut last year and again this year, or held their budgets flat, Bolinger said.
Last year, the Sheriff's Office scrapped plans to ask for more cars to try to save money, Helder said.
Other areas had forced cuts. The Office of the Public Defender was cut by about $18,900 last year.
Several departments, including the public defender's office, came back to the Quorum Court to ask for more money because officials could not finish the year on the reduced budgets, Bolinger said. Now, the office faces another $9,700 reduction, according to county documents.
Some departments' funds must meet certain standards, pay certain positions or share some costs under state law, she said.
The county must meet certain state-mandated standards at the jail, Zega said. The proposed cuts could impact the jail's ability to meet standards, officials said.
"You can just cut so long, then you get into the vital organs and then the bleeding really is serious," Helder said.
The Confusion Conundrum
Lundstrum said Tuesday he thought personnel was not included in the vote for the 2 percent reduction.
Just before the vote, Joe Patterson, R-Springdale, said he wouldn't vote for cuts without emergency service exemptions, then voted for it.
Patterson did not return a phone message left Wednesday.
Several officials asked justices of the peace after the meeting exactly what was supposed to be cut. They were surprised the cut came up at all, Zega, Helder and others said.
Department directors asked Bolinger to calculate a 2 percent reduction only for operations -- not capital purchases and personnel expenses.
Total reduction for all departments would be about $324,000.
At the Sheriff's Office, the cut to enforcement dropped to $15,507 and cuts to the jail would run about $70,000, records show.
The Election Commission plans to cut $21,544 to reach its 2 percent, but that number drops to $11,570 if only operations are cut.
A run-off election won't be necessary for the March 1 primaries and so planned part-time salaries won't be needed, Jennifer Price, election commission coordinator, said Tuesday.
The commission turned in a reasonable budget, but the Quorum Court still wants cuts, said Bill Ackerman, a Republican election commissioner. The commission can cut and cut, but the county must provide money for special elections because the commission is mandated by law to hold those elections, he and Price said.
There are few, if any, places to cut, commissioners said.
"They are not just picking on us -- it's across the board," Ackerman said. "They've already asked us to cut it to the thinnest dime."
NW News on 11/29/2015