Most county departments are facing increased costs, primarily due to more pay to attract and retain personnel.
Leaders of nine county departments presented budget requests to commissioners on Tuesday. All but one asked for an increase.
Commissioners will consider their requests as they begin working on the budget; they scheduled a special meeting on July 20 for that purpose. In previous meetings, they have expressed reluctance to raise the tax rate. That could be helped by a nearly $10 million increase in the county’s assessed valuation at $100,610,028, up from $90,142,015 last year due to new construction, new housing and agricultural value increases.
Chairman David Lee said most of the requests were due to wages and benefits. Department heads requested 5% wage increases. Commissioners may ask them to reduce that number to 3% or 4%.
“We’re going to have to see how finances are looking and if we can support those requests,” Lee said. “The resounding theme from department heads is that the cost of doing business has gone up over the past two or three years.”
Lee said his priority is to attract and retain employees, and that could mean taking a comparative look at wages in nearby counties.
“We need to make sure our wages are competitive with counties, cities and industries around us,” he said.
His priorities also include boosting economic development efforts and improved roads, such as more blacktop roads rather than chip-and-seal overlays.
DISTRICT court is the only department to ask for a decrease in funding compared to the previous year. Judge Daniel Creitz and Clerk Dina Morrison said the court could work with $11,919 in less funding than last year, which actually puts the budget more in line with a typical year. Last year, the court had increased costs for computer purchases.
Mitch Garner, Public Works director, reported the budget for the airport had gone up slightly because of higher utility and phone charges. But if the county decides to add five hangars at the airport, he’ll need another $230,000.
His budget for the noxious weed department increased because of the addition of part-time help to start spraying earlier in the year. He also reported an increase in supply and equipment costs, and engineering fees for the solid waste fund.
Road and Bridge director Mark Griffith reported he needed to add more employees to the road crew, and also is working to attract and retain those who have a commercial driver’s license. He’ll need to chip and seal more roads next year, so there is an increase in those costs as well.
Appraiser Jami Clark talked about the impact of an employee’s possible retirement and a cost-of-living pay increase. She told commissioners to expect a rate increase of about 10% for the service that provides GIS mapping. The service hadn’t raised rates in several years.
Treasurer Darolyn Maley increased her budget for expenses such as computers, office supplies and legal publications.
Misty Rice, who was appointed Register of Deeds after Cara Barkdoll’s retirement in December, said her department’s budget will need to increase because she needs to attend training and conferences.
