Island County commissioners agreed to cut roughly $100,000 in new staff positions from the budget over the last two weeks, but fell short of their goal to cut roughly $300,000.
A second budget hearing followed by a likely adoption will be held 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room.
“I think it’s a good budget,” said Budget Director Elaine Marlow. “Every budget comes with a balance. Even the little things we took out last week … it flows things better.”
Commissioner Jill Johnson pushed for additional cuts but couldn’t garner support.
Johnson said she still had concerns that the county was being overly optimistic on forecasting future tax revenues and that the budget needed more “wiggle room” to prepare for the unexpected.
“When you go through this, we’re really not leaving ourselves enough room,” Johnson said.
Commissioners Helen Price Johnson and Aubrey Vaughan said that the budget was as tight as it was going to get while still offering essential services to Island County residents.
“I think we are being realistic in our assumptions,” Price Johnson said. “We need to get some of these basic infrastructures in place.”
The big areas of investment for the county are law and justice as well as information technology. Commissioners approved the addition of two new deputies costing $179,000, and security equipment for district court costing $40,000 in one-time expenses and $50,000 in an ongoing security staff position.
Funded technology upgrades include a total of $180,000 in one-time funding for website development and engineering, content migration, and updated data protection software and equipment.
The county is also looking to allot $239,000 in ongoing funding for increased internet capacity, a data management system and a SharePoint developer position.
One of Johnson’s main concerns is the board’s decision to approve roughly $600,000 in ongoing expenses total from the general fund in the 2015 budget. This fund, said Johnson, is only replenished annually by roughly $200,000, leaving the county in a $400,000 shortfall each year.
“That’s what I’m nervous about,” Johnson said.
“We know we have a structural problem,” Price Johnson agreed, but added “we are much more stable as an organization and as a community. I think it’s a good plan that speaks to what we hold in high priority.”
Price Johnson added that in next year’s budget commissioners will want to look at their long-term strategy.
Vaughan, who served for several years on the county’s Law and Justice Council, said the issue of funding law and justice arises every year and that the commissioners should look seriously at a law and justice levy.
Such a levy was placed on the ballot last year, but was removed shortly after when commissioners discovered they had enough fund balance to meet some of the county’s law and justice needs.
“Let’s face it, the problem we had in this budget is because we don’t have a committed funding source for law and justice,” Vaughan said. “We need to start looking at a permanent funding source. Going forward that needs to be part of the conversation in 2015 because of the trouble it causes us every year.”
