Earlier budget cycle leaves some agencies guessing

By CAITLIN SULLIVAN/Staff

In a move toward a semi-annual tax collection cycle in the coming years, the county has shifted its budget process calendar forward two months. The change requires agencies except schools requesting money from the county to submit a request by Dec. 14. The school budget requests deadline is Jan. 31.
“It’s an accelerated tax budget process by a couple of months,” said County Administrator Mark Reeter, who proposed the idea in October. “Instead of the budget process being in May, it will be in March. The greatest challenges will be with agencies that heavily rely on state funds. They’re requests will be based on guesstimates on their state funding.”
Library Director Charlotte Parsons said she’ll have no idea what her state money might be, so she’ll have to base her request from the county on what she requested last year and hope her state assistance doesn’t change too much.
“The last couple of years we’ve been losing money (from the state),” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if our budget gets cut more.”
Still she said she never asks the county to make up for any shortfalls from state aid.
She said there are things like magazines, periodicals and newspaper subscriptions that go up every year but she won’t know by how much until January, after her budget request is in.
She said she also won’t know what her operating expenses for things like heating oil will be.
“That’s a high ticket and we won’t have anything to go on,” she said.
Christine Eldretch, a director of the Hayters Gap Community Center, said heating costs is the only component that may prove to be a problem when making requests.
“We basically know what it takes to operate unless the utility bills or fuel bills were to jump,” she said.
Still, she said, that’s all right with her.
“I’m sure the county needs more time to go through the budget,” she said.
County Treasurer Fred Parker said he doesn’t think moving up the budget process will be that big of a deal because agencies and departments generally already know what its needs will be.
“We’ve operated like this before, the state comes up with some bright idea or cuts their budget and we have to adjust,” he said.
Plus, Reeter said, they’re going to have to be flexible because “this is just a trial, we’re testing it,” he said.