Commissioners wrap up work on preliminary budget

Wahkiakum County officials crunched numbers one more time Tuesday as they put finishing touches on their proposed budgets for 2013.

The board went over requests for increased spending from department heads and wrestled with projecting how much, if any, deficit the Current Expense Budget will have next year. In the end, the board of commissioners decided to plan to divert $200,000 from the County Road Levy to cover a possible shortfall in the Current Expense Fund, which finances most county departments.

It would be the third year for a diversion of the road levy. The first year, the board used only $100,000, and this year, unanticipated extra funds made the shift unnecessary.

Commissioners and the county employee's union have finished contract negotiations. Union employees will receive a three percent raise next year, their first raise in at least three years.

Officials are still unsure of how much revenue to expect from the State of Washington. Commissioner Blair Brady, who represents the county on the state association of counties, said the board should expect the worst.

"Look at the state: They're expecting a $2 billion short fall in education funding," he said. "We're going into uncharted water. They have taken all the low hanging fruit and they're looking at county funding as discretionary funding. I don't think we're through tough times yet."

The county should finish 2012 in the black because of unanticipated extra funds from the state Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner of Public Lands earlier this year distributed timber funds to Wahkiakum and other small counties dependent on timber harvests for revenues, and a sale of county trust timber generated $250,000 more than anticipated when the budget was prepared last year.

The board spent several hours meeting with department heads to go over major changes or requests for spending increases over what had been budgetd for 2012. For the most part, they approved the requests, noting that if the legislature reduces county funding next spring, department heads may have to cut any new or expanded positions covered in the 2013 budget.

Since making severe budget and staff cuts several years ago, the board has resisted increasing extra help.

The board approved a request from Assessor Bill Coons to revise job descriptions for his staff and add funds for extra help. Coons said the changes would result in a reduction in total wages paid. He would create a deputy assessor/appraiser position. Eighteen months ago, Coons took over appraising responsibility and, as part of an office reorganization, laid off the department's appraiser.

Commissioners expressed reluctance to approve the latest change.

"You said you didn't need an appraiser," Commissioner Blair Brady said. "That's my hang up."

Coons responded that the needs of the office have changed.

"I inherited a big clerical mess," he said. "The first need was for more clerical help than for appraising. Now, the backlog is down. I have a plan for getting the county to annual revaluations (not every four years as is current practice), and it's more work than I can do."

After more discussion the board said it would go along with the request, but Coons was advised to check with the payroll clerk and union to make sure his new job descriptions fit the union contract.

Among the other approved request for increased funds for extra help was a new part-time position for the county auditor's office.

Auditor Diane Tischer said the position would get the department back to the staff level it had before the layoffs, and the extra help is needed so that full-time employees can use accumulated leave time and also go to training sessions without leaving the office shorthanded.

Commissioners said Tischer and department heads with new funding for extra help should consider opening their offices full time again. Offices have been closed two hours at mid-day as a means of allowing the staff to take lunch and to work without interruption.

Tischer said she would consider opening all day at midyear, for she will have to train two new employees.

The commissioners will open a public hearing on the budget next Monday, 9 a.m., in the commissioners meeting room.

By law, they have to complete their budget work within five days of the public hearing.

Copies of the proposed budget are available in the county auditor's office.