County budget: Funds sought for Extension

More changes may be in store for Wahkiakum County’s 2008 budgets when the board of commissioners opens its public hearing next Monday, 1:30 p.m. in the courthouse meeting room.

Expecting a revenue stream inadequate for funding existing programs, the board announced cuts in personnel, departments and programs in late October.

The board completely eliminated funding for the Cooperative Extension and Emergency Services programs. It cut staff levels for the county auditor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer, and in Health and Human Services programs. It reduced funding to a variety of other programs, including eliminating its support for community programs such as St. James Family Center.

The Cooperative Extension Program, however, may see a revival. Since the announcement of its funding cut, citizens and staff of Washington State University Cooperative Extension have been looking for ways to restore the program at least in part.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Dan Cothren announced that the group had found approximately $32,300 for the program; the county budgeted $83,000 for it for 2007.

Cothren said the funds come from:

—Wahkiakum On the Move, the county’s transportation program, assuming services contracted with PeaceHealth, $10,000, and Lower Columbia Community Action Council for transportation of paraplegic persons, $6,000;

—A $10,000 cut in funding for the health department;

—A $3,000 cut to the Wahkiakum Community Foundation, and,

—A cut of the $3,300 in the auditor’s budget for extra help.

“We’ll try to get closer next week,” Cothren said. “This is where we’re at. There was some other money that could be available, but we won’t know that till January.”

Commission Chair George Trott told the audience of over 30 persons that even if the program is restored, the problem won’t go away.

“This is a temporary fix,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that this county doesn’t have the means to sustain this.”

Cothren said the extension personnel had proposed a program level of $45,000; it might be necessary for them to apply to the community foundation for a grant to cover the difference, if it can’t be found in the county budgets.

Because of the decline in revenue from county trust timberlands and overall inflation of the cost county government, the county won’t be able to afford in the future the services that it has been able to provide in the past, he said.

“These are huge cuts,” Trott said, speaking of all the reductions in staff and programs. “The fact that we’ve found money for extension and not for them, well, it will be tough. These are really tough decisions.”

Members of the audience complimented the board for looking for funds for extension. They urged the board to continue the effort, for extension offers many programs that serve youth, they said, and there would be adverse impacts if the programs were cut.

The community programs that extension supports, such as 4-H and the county fair, have far reaching benefits in the community, said Grays River resident Bob Pyle.

“We don’t want to be the citizenry and commissioners who presided over the closing of the county,” he said.

The proposed Current Expense Fund, which covers most courthouse services, would total $5.83 million for 2008, up slightly from $5.57 budgeted for 2007.

The proposed budgets for the county’s other funds and programs, including cumulative reserves, County Road and Health and Human Services, total $19.5 million, up from $16.5 million budgeted for 2007.

Property taxes would provide $450,000 for the Current Expense Fund and $475,000 for the County Road Fund. Revenue from harvest of timber off state-managed trust land is estimated to be $2 million for 2008. County officials expected $900,000 for 2007, but the actual revenue may be $680,000 because of a softening of the timber markets.

The proposed budget for the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic totals $1.14 million for 2008. Officials have cut expected revenue from patient service fees from $952,000 actually collected in 2006 to an estimated $889,475 for 2008. They’ve also budgeted in a $225,000 transfer from the Current Expense Fund.

The expected clinic staff level shows one physician and two nurse practitioners and one registered nurse. The clinic started 2007 with two physicians, a nurse practitioner, and two registered nurses filling approximately 1.5 full-time equivalent positions. The clinic has already cut two clerical positions.