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Budget: no surprises in 2010
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| By: Anita Zimmerman |
September 09, 2009 |
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From the outset, Barron County's 2010 budget includes few variations on 2009 numbers.
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At an executive committee meeting of the Barron County Board of Supervisors last Wednesday morning, interim Administrator/Finance Director Jeff French presented the draft budget.
French projects an increase of $68,381 over 2009 operating expenses.
"I think that's phenomenal," he added. "We're pretty close to having a balanced fund."
Figures for health insurance aren't in and union negotiations will affect the final numbers, but French believes budgeting shouldn't be difficult despite a projected decrease in intergovernmental revenue.
Last year, Barron County received $2.6 million from the state; he predicts the county will get $2.2 million in 2010.
To offset diminished and/or temporarily withheld state funding, five county positions-two from zoning, one from Health and Human Services, one from Soil and Water and one from the highway department-have been eliminated following retirements.
French asked supervisors for guidance during the "tweaking" process-including input on what the levy and mill rates should look like. Since the county's equalized valuation dropped again from 2008 to 2009, the mill rate will go up, he said.
French pointed out several "reasonable" adjustments, including slight increases in fees and potential decreases in employee raises and funding requests.
Supervisors agreed the county's workforce doesn't allow for more cutting. For the 2010 budget to work in its current form, consolidations of several departments must be approved.
So far, the executive committee has tabled the reorganizations.
Audit report
Auditor Dan Thole, of LarsonAllen LLC, presented the 2008 audit report to the executive committee. For the sixth-straight year, the county earned the highest designation of "unqualified" audit opinion for complying with accepted accounting principles.
Other than a significant increase in the highway department's sand and salt inventory (from $702,396 in 2007 to $1.2 million in 2008), which French attributed to more precise measuring, the county showed few changes over previous years.
Findings include:
* The report on internal control found "significant deficiencies for lack of segregation of duties at the departmental level." In standard terminology, departments have so few employees that one person is often in control of transactions from beginning to end. It's an unavoidable hazard of consolidating jobs and departments, French said.
* Barron County's undesignated fund balance held steady at 27 percent of its expenses (up from 26.8 percent in 2007). Due to changes in the credit market, banks are requiring that borrowers have a minimum 20 percent to draw loans, Thole said; last year, borrowers only needed 15 percent of their operating expenses in unreserved, undesignated cash to get a loan.
* Taxpayers are paying in. The county had a 4-percent decrease in delinquent taxes in 2008, compared to a minimum 8-percent increase and maximum 43-percent increase in neighboring counties.
* Debts are going down. The county carries a debt load of 11.3 percent of its allowable debt, a decrease from 12 percent at the end of 2007.
* The highway department's cash and investments were -$2,076,000 in 2008; more than $1.7 million of the department budget was tied up in accounts receivable; more than $2 million was advanced from the general fund to balance the department's budget.
Recruitment
Recruitment of a new administrator begins in October. The position will be advertised in area newspapers, Wisconsin county organizations and relevant Web sites.
Qualifications include a minimum bachelor's degree with relevant experience. Chairman Pete Olson said committee members wanted supervisors to have as much discretion as possible during the hiring process.
The ad hoc committee anticipates interviews will last from November through January 2010, and the administrator will start March 1, 2010. Once hired, the administrator will be required to establish residency in Barron County within six months.
During discussion, Supervisor Ken Jost commended French for doing an "outstanding job" as both interim administrator and finance director.
Jost asked whether the recruitment process could be slowed to allow French more time to prove his capabilities. Jost also questioned whether there was a process to remove the "interim" from French's title.
It was the consensus of the executive committee that several Barron County residents have already expressed interest in applying for the position, so limiting candidacy to French would be unfair to them.
Case dismissed
The county received notification from the Department of Workforce Development that former highway department employee Dave Brodt's age discrimination suit had been dismissed for lack of probable cause. Brodt has 30 days to appeal the decision.
Finance director job
The part-time, limited-term finance director position has not yet been filled. County officials are looking for someone who can help fill in while French assumes administrative duties.
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©The Chetek Alert 2009
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