Commissioners review budgets

Wahkiakum County commissioners and department heads took the next step in their 2009 budgeting process this week with meetings to go over the departments’ preliminary budget requests.

Commissioners George Trott, Dan Cothren and Blair Brady met Tuesday with representatives of the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic, Washington State University Cooperative Extension and the Lower Columbia Economic Development Council.

On Wednesday they were scheduled to meet with representatives of Superior Court, Permitting and Planning, Health and Human Services, Wahkiakum County Fair and with Sheriff Dan Bardsley.

On the schedule for today (Thursday) are Treasurer Paula Holloway, Assessor Sulema Zerr, Public Works Director Pete Ringen, Weed Control, District Court, commission clerk, and Auditor Diane Tischer.

Representing the clinc, Dr. Janice McClean and David Goodroe, member of the clinic advisory board, said the clinic managers will trim expenses again this year, without cutting staff, in an effort to reduce a projected budget deficit from $50,000 to $10,000 or less.

With a stable staff of service providers, the clinic could likely meet its budget next year, they said.

McClean said she and other providers last weekend agreed they would cut their 2009 vacations by two weeks. With that extra time and maintaining a steady patient load, they should be able to generate $1.27 to $1.33 million in revenue next year.

In related action last week, commissioners named McClean as clinic administrator and created a new position, clinic operations manager, and they authorized McClean to advertise the position for applicants.

WSU Extension Agent Carrie Kennedy presented a budget request of $20,000 from the county to help fund the Cooperative Extension Program in 2009.

Commissioners had notified WSU Extension at the end of September that they intended to cancel the program; the notification was required under terms of the contract between the parties.

However, they left the door open to proposals from Extension, and Kennedy presented a budget relying on grant revenues to fund aspects of the program.

However, WSU will require at least a $10,000 match from the county, she said after meeting with the board.

Earlier in the day, commissioners voted to allow continued part-time employment of Extension clerk; they had ordered in September a staff cut which would have eliminated the position November 1. Kennedy said recent fundraising efforts had come up with funds to maintain the position for the rest of the year.

On Monday, Sheriff Dan Bardsley indicated dismay with spending cuts imposed on his department.

He has had to lay off a corrections officer and two deputy sheriffs, Helen Coubra and Josh Grasseth.

“It’s scary,” Bardsley said. “I’ve eliminated five positions over the past couple of years. I’m hoping I don’t have to make any more cuts in personnel.

The preliminary budget shows a cut of $279,000 for the sheriff’s office, he said.

If the cuts continue, they’ll go into programs funded by grants or other appropriations, so they’ll also start cutting revenue, he said.

“The morale of the whole department is down,” he said.

He also said there wasn’t adequate planning for dealing with declining revenue.

“It’s hard to address these things till you know what to expect,” he said.