Douglas budget progress and issues

March 24, 2015

* Budget issues will likely make it harder for funds to take care of the Johnson Lane community.
* Commissioner Barry Penzel makes the point that more funds should go towards maintaining roads.

http://www.recordcourier.com/news/15615688-113/douglas-budget-workshops-begin

The Record-Courier
by Kurt Hildebrand
khildebrand@recordcourier.com
Minden, Nev. — There’s a $2 million difference between pending general fund requests and the amount of money they have to work with, Douglas County commissioners learned on Monday, the first day of a two-day budget workshop.

Assistant County Manager Christine Vuletich reported the county’s general fund was balanced at $41.8 million, with the exception of $2.7 million in requests for new personnel and employee compensation.

With an ending fund balance of roughly $7 million, the total general fund budget is $48.9 million.

How commissioners allocate the $700,000 they have to work with will depend on several factors including employee negotiations.

The county is projected to receive $18.8 million in property tax and $11.13 million in state consolidated taxes, which includes sales taxes distributed by the state to the counties. Charges for county services is expected to raise $4.3 million. Licenses and permits are expected to raise $3.5 million.

On the expense side, the county is required by the state to increase the Public Employee Retirement System contribution rate from 25.75 to 28 percent for regular employees. That change will cost the county $739,715, bringing personnel costs to $29.84 million for the next fiscal year.

County commissioners have to approve the tentative budget by April 15, with the final budget going before the board in May for delivery to the state by June 1.

The general fund goes to pay for law enforcement, including the sheriff’s office, the judicial branch and the district attorney’s office,

A large ending fund balance in the road operating fund prompted Commissioner Barry Penzel to ask whether that money wouldn’t be better spent on roads.

Public Works Director Carl Ruschmeyer said the ending fund balance was designed to help replace aging equipment.

Commissioners designated $635,896 of the $813,683 specifically for equipment purchase. Penzel questioned the wisdom of that decision.

“This money should be used for maintenance of the roads,” he said. “It’s a high balance to be held in reserve. We should look at this to see if it should be cut down to a more reasonable number.”

Commissioner Steve Thaler pointed out that the issue is really one of revenue for roads.

“The elephant in the room is that there’s not enough revenue coming in to do what we want to do,” he said.

Resident Carl Schnock asked about the parking garage bonds, which are under the ad valorem capital projects fund.

“I don’t believe we have a parking garage,” he said.

Commissioners approved $6 million in bonds to build two parking garages in 2004, leveraging the capital projects fund. A nickel of property tax goes to the fund, which was implemented in 1978, and raises $1.25 million a year.

In 2007, after learning that a single parking garage in Minden could cost as much as $8 million, county commissioners voted to use the money to expand the Douglas County jail, which at the time was at capacity. The jail cost $4 million to complete.

That money was then shifted to help fund the Douglas County Community & Senior Center.

The second half of the workshops starts 4 p.m. today, where commissioners will hear about budgets for the East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts, utility funds and special revenue funds.