|
|
|
|
|
County cuts spending
by Jule Hubbard
Cost-cutting measures for Wilkes County government were announced at the county commissioners meeting Tuesday night to help offset an anticipated reduction of at least $750,000 in sales tax revenue this fiscal year.
"We made it official at a staff meeting Friday. We froze all capital expenditures," said Commission Chairman Charles Sink. "We also asked all department heads to cut 5 percent from their budgets to head off expenses."
Sink said essential expenditures, such as the purchase of a Wilkes Emergency Medical Services ambulance earlier during Tuesday night’s meeting, would continue. Commissioners agreed to buy the ambulance, a demo model from Northwestern Emergency Vehicles in West Jefferson, for $126,931 to replace an old ambulance being retired.
He also announced a freeze on non-essential travel and hiring.
“We are asking people (in county government) to come up with any efficiencies they can. We have to seriously look at limiting expenses,” said Sink.
He said the cost-cutting measures were taken after County Manager John Yates and County Finance Officer Jerry Shepherd met Thursday to discuss county government’s financial outlook.
Yates said in an interview that no increase in sales tax revenue was projected when the budget for fiscal 2008-09, which ends June 30, 2009, was prepared.
Instead of no increase, he said, it now appeared that sales tax revenue would be down about 5 percent. That would cause about a $750,000 decrease in sales tax revenue this fiscal year, said Yates.
He said freezing non-essential capital expenditures the rest of this fiscal year, which ends June 30, should save about $350,000. He said doing the same with travel should save about $75,000.
County government should save about $100,000 if fuel prices remain below $2 a gallon for the rest of the fiscal year, Yates added. The amount of money budgeted this fiscal year for gas was increased significantly in anticipation of continued higher prices at the pumps.
Sink said county government department heads were being asked to not shift extra money that was budgeted for gas. He said revenue from county government’s tax settlement with Lowe’s Companies Inc. would help.
Commissioners Luther Parks and Zach Henderson said during the meeting that they agreed with the spending cutbacks.
In a related matter, updated plans for the county’s proposed law enforcement center and new jail with capacity for 298 inmates were made available for public viewing for about 30 minutes before the regular meeting started Tuesday night. County officials said a review of the plans by state officials resulted in no significant changes.
Under the current schedule, construction bids are to be sought for the project in March, construction is to start in May 2009 and completion is scheduled in November 2010. Commissioners haven’t yet voted on plans to finance the project.
Cost of the 120,000-square-foot facility with 298 jail beds was estimated at $28.5 million in February, but county officials said it could be less now because economic conditions have lowered construction costs and interest rates.
Commissioners focused much of their jail discussions earlier this year on whether to cut the size and cost of the facility by reducing its inmate capacity. After learning from an architect with Knoxville-based Cope Associates Inc, that a facility with a 250-bed jail would cost about $27.04 million, compared to $28.5 million for a 298-bed facility, commissioners decided the savings weren’t enough to justify the reduced space for inmates. |
|
|
|
|
