|
|
OPINION
With the preliminary ’08 budget hearings winding down we have a better idea of how the citizens will be impacted. As always, the debate is how much service is necessary, desirable and affordable. Other than the mandates, “cuts” or “reductions” are defined as a decrease from the ’07 budget. The more visible impacts to the citizens could include longer waits when renewing your automobile license. The Clerk and Recorder was cut over $420,000 in postage and election costs, he will have to find that some where in his budget given elections cost more each year, not less. There will be no new gravel added to the 1100 miles of rural roads in the county in ’08, and given the cuts in Fleet Service we know we will have more equipment in the shop during major snow storms and will not get to the residential streets for several days. The Parks Dept. will be freezing positions and running vacancies, reducing maintenance, closing restrooms in the off season and will try to transfer its three “non mission” parks in lieu of closing them. Widefield Park and Stratmoor Hills are here in the southern part of the county. Reductions in the Security Dept. will affect after hours meetings in the courthouse including Small Claims Court, Grand Jury hearings, Divorce Clinics, and Court Appointed Special Advocate programs. The commissioners started by trimming about 2.5 million from the 8.5 million that was presented as “mandates”, we can’t get around the fact it costs more to do business every year. Normal inflation and growth see to that, but then we factor in federal and state requirements on everything from more training for deputies, increased licensing requirements, new voting procedures, new accounting procedures, new standards for road signs, and you begin to see almost everything we do either cost more or takes longer. We did agree that for the safety of the deputies in both the jail and on patrol the Sheriff’s Office had to have 12 new deputies, this is less than one fourth of what a recent study showed was needed immediately to deal with current demand, but it was the best we could do. Two new judges in ’08, paid for by the state, will require 8 to 10 additional people in the District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Office, paid for by the county. The Commissioners continued to show a commitment to Public Safety as the Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s Offices have continued to grow in an attempt to meet the growing needs of an ever more urban county. In the interest of full disclosure, while we project the same sales tax revenue in ’08 as ’07 and a minor increase in property tax from new construction to give the county a slightly larger ’08 budget, the increase will not come close to covering the increased costs of delivering county services to a growing population.
|
