“It is a provisional budget, nobody expects it to come about as it was presented,” said Commissioner Don Dixon. “It’s more of ‘when we get what we want’. There will be discounts for sure, this is just a wish list. It gives us an idea of what they are imagining. Now we have to find out what their priorities are and how we can get there. “
The sheriff consumes by far the largest part of the overall fund budget, calling for nearly $ 44 million next year, which is 12% more than 2019 – the last normal fiscal year before the pandemic – and 41% more than was actually spent last year . The commissioners ordered general fund cuts of 7.4% over two years at the beginning of the crisis, as revenue forecasts were bleak.
ExploreButler County’s sheriff plans to increase budget by nearly 10% next year: what’s in the plans?
“The commissioners have asked for very painful concessions,” Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer told Journal News. “We answered that call and during that time we haven’t had the luxury of just hiring what we do and working from home. I didn’t have anyone to work remotely, we all had to come to work every day. We have survived and are now asking the commissioners to take into account the contractual increases and what is necessary for the proper operation of our operations. “
Despite the financial health for next year being rosy at this early stage, Boyko said they would closely monitor all economic indicators as they transition into a post-pandemic reality because “no one knows”.
“We have to keep our eyes wide open as we approach the economy in 2022,” said Boyko.
The general fund bears the main expenses of the district, which are not supported by other taxes or sources of income. The largest source of income is sales tax, and that income has soared to record highs this year despite, or perhaps because of, the pandemic. Tough federal exemption controls and increased unemployment benefits created an artificially robust economy.
Officials are forecasting a 10.8% increase in sales tax this year to $ 49.5 million, but only a 2% increase year over year or $ 50.5 million for the next year.
“Although we believe they will be higher than in traditional years because of the funding and disposable income that is still being spent, we still believe that at some point the economy will react to the fact that the money is not available. “Said Boyko.
There are other departments like Water and Sewage that work with service fees and Children’s Services, which have their own dues and other government funding, as well as independent bodies like the Board of Developmental Disabilities, which are also included in the tax budget.
Total tax budget spending for the next year is projected to be $ 462 million, supported by revenue of $ 676 million, including the US $ 37.2 million bailout. The county received $ 74.5 million in two installments of $ 37.2 million this year and next.
Aside from the exact spending for next year, the commissioners have put $ 15 million in a newly created capital reserve fund, fed with money the county no longer has to spend on general fund debt. The commissioners paid their last debt payment last year.
Commissioner TC Rogers said it was time to determine how big the county government should be in terms of its spending, but also to properly size its wealth. The new fund will allow them to dig into the details of a new study they are commissioning, as well as address deferred maintenance projects such as the historic courthouse.
“In addition to the final number of how big a county government should be financially, we want to know how big the footprint should be,” said Rogers. “The footprint is the collective square footage of all of our assets and the cost of maintaining them.”