Commissioners fine tune budget

Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday wrapped up their final budget preparation work by considering a request from Assessor Bill Coons for a special project and a review of the Prosecuting Attorney's Office budget.

Coons has tried unsuccessfully several times this year to convince the board of commissioners to fund extra help for his office as he tries to catch up office duties.

Commissioners have allowed him to restructure his staff but refused to comply with all of Coons's requests, saying they have refused to boost extra help funds for other departments.

And to handle a projected budget deficit for 2012, they've told officials to reduce funding to 2010 levels.

"We'll be $319,000 short at 2010 levels," said commission Chair Lisa Marsyla.

Coons asked the board to authorize the use of a special fund that gets money from a statewide tax on real estate sales. Coons said the money would be used to fund a part-time clerk for two years. The clerk would enter records needed for the county to move to an annual revaluation cycle for property values and taxes.

This has been a goal of Coons and his predecessor, who have said the four-year cycle victimizes property owners when values fall after a long rise.

He presented a written opinion from county Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow, prepared at Coons's request, stating that the use would be legal.

Commissioners Marsyla and Dan Cothren--Blair Brady was on vacation--said they would consider the matter at their December 7 meeting after reading the opinion and studying the issues.

The proposal drew support from several citizens, including members of the county Board of Equalization.

"You see us here to urge you to assist the assessor," said Nick Nikkola, equalization board chair. "The annual revaluation is very important to the citizens of this county."

"In the long run, it will save the county money," said board member Pat Dennis.

Marsyla said she wanted to have more detail from Coons about how the job would be structured.

Nikkola suggested the commissioners leave the details to the department head. There's a point where the board can start to manage a department with micro-management, he said.

Commissioner Cothren replied that there are many details to consider, and something done for one department can have a domino effect with other departments.

"The reason that I ask those questions is that I have to make choices," Marsyla said.

Skamokawa resident Mike Linn said that as he has attended commission meetings this year, he has concluded the commissioners treat the assessor differently.

"It seems to me that the assessor's office has gotten a lot more scrutiny than other offices," Linn said.

Commissioners agreed they give Coons's requests hard scrutiny, but it's because of the increased costs of extra help and fairness to other offices.

Marsyla and Cothren voted to divert $300,000 from taxes collected for the County Road Fund to the Current Expense Fund next year as a way to handle the $300,000 shortfall.

Other options were raising property taxes or relying on a planned $400,000 state appropriation from a recent law designed to compensate small counties for state managed trust timberland locked up as habitat for endangered species.

Commissioners agreed that if the state comes through with the $400,000, they will consider ways to return some of the money to the County Road Fund.