By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — As county officials meet to establish a 2010 budget with reduced tax revenue working against them, its becoming increasingly difficult to avoid cuts to personnel.
Madison County Councilman Buddy Patterson said the council has met four times over the past week and has yet to find a solution to the more than $3 million deficit they are facing for 2010.
Bill Savage, council president, said an independent financial firm, H.J. Umbaugh and Associates, has estimated that the county will need to cut at least $3.8 million for next year’s budget.
While county department heads have turned in budget requests totaling $39 million, Savage said council members aren’t even considering that number.
Instead of increasing the budget from one year to the next, as is typically done, the county is being forced to reduce the budget.
Savage said the council must get the county budget to $32 million in order to have a $0 cash reserve.
In an ideal situation, the county cash reserve would be at 16 percent of the budget, he said.
Council members are being forced to make cuts, he said, due to reduced property tax revenue caused by property tax caps.
Patterson said county council officials asked county departments to cut 10 percent from their individual budgets.
Most were unable to do so, he said.
When the council meets again at 5 p.m. Thursday, Patterson expects that personnel changes will be discussed.
“We’re really going to try and prevent layoffs,” Patterson said.
As of Monday, $1.5 million had been cut, Savage said.
Savage says county departments will once again be asked to evaluate their budgets and make further cuts to avoid any discussion about layoffs.
“We’ve talked about shorter hours,” Savage said. “Nothing’s definite yet.”
With nearly $4 million to cut from an already bare-bones budget, county officials are scrambling to find solutions without reducing the workforce.
Four-day work weeks have also been discussed, according to councilman John Bostic.
Bostic, who believes Madison County should have been exempt from some portions of property tax cap legislation, is not convinced that job cuts will be necessary. “The numbers are looking tough, but I think we’ll be able to work those numbers out. I don’t think we’ll have to hurt personnel right now. I don’t think we’re in as bad a shape as some people say.”
Although he doesn’t believe the county is in a position to cut jobs, he does believe an increase to the local option income tax is inevitable. “Some way, somehow, you have to make up the difference of the money that you lost to be able to support the county. Somewhere down the line, that tax has got to come.”
During the 2008 discussions about raising the county option income tax, or COIT, the county council refused to consider Anderson’s proposal to raise the tax to 1.5 percent.
This time around, they may be more receptive. “It may come down to where everything has to be looked at. We might have to look at it,” Savage said.
Even with a COIT, often referred to as a LOIT, or local option income tax, the county will still suffer, Savage said. “If we would pass a full one percent LOIT for Madison County, it would just reduce the circuit breaker loss by $1.9 million. We’d still have to cut almost $2 million.”
County council members will meet again on Thursday at 5 p.m. in council chambers.
Contact Brandi Watters 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
