Commissioner Shannon Whitfield
Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield said Thursday night that the money-strapped county has balanced its budget - partially due to discovering a $2 million accounting error in the county's favor.
Commissioner Whitfield said the remainder of a $4.5 million deficit was made up with some painful budget cuts.
Some tight new spending restrictions being imposed are not sitting well with elected officials in the county. Carter Brown, clerk of Superior Court, opened the meeting by announcing that county officials object to the new budget process. He said some of the steps taken "bring into question whether they are legal."
Commissioner Whitfield during the special called meeting imposed a new purchase order requirement on any purchases $200 and above. He said in the past there had been a loosely enforced $500 limit with some offices totally ignoring the requirement.
Purchases up to $5,000 will be checked out by Finance Director Greg McConnell and those between $5,000 and $15,000 by Commissioner Whitfield. Purchases over $15,000 will be placed on the agenda at the next commissioner meeting for public scrutiny.
Another resolution set a "legal level of budgetary control." That gives Mr. McConnell oversight of any funds transfers by departments and elected officials that are outside the budget. Each department head or elected official "must complete a budget change request form in order to request a budget appropriation transfer between summary line-items or between line items within the same summarized object classification."
He said the steps were being taken "to bring transparency to our finances. It will hold everyone accountable."
Commissioner Whitfield said the tight requirements will apply to his office as well. He said, "When others get a hair cut, the commissioner gets one too." He said deep cuts have been made in the commissioner's office spending, including a reduction in personnel.
He said under past rules and oversight "I could go out and buy a farm or a Mercedes SUV (with county money) and you might not find out about it for months or ever."
There will be some exclusions to the strict budget clamps, including for inmate medical expenses and court-appointed attorneys, he said.
He said of the balanced budget, "I've been working my tail off to get it done. I was here til 10 before midnight last night and to 10 o'clock the night before."
He said about $100,000 is being saved in the county attorney item. He said spending for former County Attorney Don Oliver was around $192,000 last year. He said the new attorney is on the basis of "as needed."
Commissioner Whitfield said the fire department is now on a pay-as-you-go basis, and he said the money-losing landfill is now paying its own way.
The losses at the Mountain Cove Farm property will be down from over $400,000 to $82,000, he said. There will no longer be a County Fair there.
He said the county does plan to allocate money to fix leaking roofs at five different buildings, saying if left unrepaired it would lead to much more expense.
There is no money in the budget for any road or bridge work, but he is urging citizens to vote in November in favor of the T-Splost. He said that should bring in $3 million, including $2.25 million for the county for road and bridge projects. He said that would allow the county to tap into $2 million in state road grants that require matching money, which the county now does not have.
He said five bridges in the county are so bad that school buses are not allowed to cross them.
Even with the budget improvements, he said the county will still likely need to borrow some $6 million the middle of next year to make it through the end of the year when the majority of tax money comes in. He said that is down from $8 million in the prior year.
He said the hope is to trim that amount by $2 million per year until the county no longer has to rely on TANs (Tax Anticipation Notes). He said they cost about $100,000 per year.
On the $8.7 million debt to Erlanger Health System over the failed Hutcheson Hospital, Commissioner Whitfield said the aim is to repay Erlanger $2.5 million a year from a new special tax levy.
He said Erlanger is also insisting that the county reimburse it $180,000 in legal fees. He said he has declined that request and that issue may go before a jury in Federal Court.
One citizen inquired, "How many lottery tickets is Bebe buying?" Commissioner Whitfield replied, "A lot, I hope," noting former Commissioner Heiskell said if she wins the lottery she will help pay off the county debt she is largely credited with creating.
Officials said the much-higher tax bills are set to be mailed out on Friday the 13th.