Lawrence County government has a new budget

For the first time in 20 years, Lawrence County government has a new budget in place at the start of the new fiscal year. County Commissioners met in special session Tuesday, June 28,at 5 p.m., and with 14 present, unanimously approved a tax levy and operating budget for 2016-17. The last time we met our deadline of June 30 was 1996.

The meeting itself was unremarkable. Resolutions were stated and votes were cast with no discussion or questions, and that is testament to the hard work done in the weeks before the meeting took place.

The Commission’s Budget Committee devoted full days to the process. I chair the committee and other members are Brandon Brown, Scott Franks, Jim Modlin and Wayne Yocom. Department heads (who started their own budget work early) presented reports about their needs for the coming year. We considered decisions made by other committees - Nonprofit and Tourism, to name two – about spending in those areas. Budget Director Teresa Purcell lent her expertise and many, many hours to put everything together for us.

Similar work was going on at the School System, involving the Board, Director Johnny McDaniel and their Budget Director Jessica Eledge. The county budget is not complete without the school system portion, so the fact that the Board approved their budget on June 27 made our action the following night possible.

It's not hard to understand why the budget has been delayed in the past. Lots of decisions are called for, and many are not easy. Some departments presented strong arguments for pay increases and additional employees. We understood their requests, but said no to all of them and even permanently eliminated a few empty positions.

We did agree to make the school system’s $300,000 geothermal payment for the second year in a row, and to give another $300,000 for capital projects. The school board will spend these funds any way they see fit, but two projects they plan are remodeling lobbies at Loretto and Lawrence County High Schools to improve student safety.

Last year’s difficult decision to raise property taxes put us on a path that covers our spending, is restoring depleted fund balances and saves money for future school and highway projects. $388,000 was set aside last year in each of those accounts, and will be again in 2016-17.

The tax rate approved this year is in fact lower than last year’s, down from $3.06 to $2.9589. This was done because of a state-required property reappraisal that probably showed your property has increased in value over the last six years. State law also requires that the county readjust its tax rate after reappraisals are complete so the same amount of revenue will be produced.

I expect that with this “head start” – actually a punctual start – we can keep things on track to approve county budgets on time in the future. Why is that important for taxpayers?

*Without a new budget, county government continues to operate on the spending plan established for the previous year. Continuing budgets only cover basic operating expenses. Other purchases have to be put off, even if the Highway Department needs a new piece of equipment, or an office copier breaks down. This year, necessary purchases can be made in a timely manner, which means the county operates more smoothly and effectively for you.

*Until the tax rate is set, tax bills cannot be sent out and revenues don’t come in. You may have heard the term “tax anticipation notes” in the past, which means we borrow money from other funds within the county to cover general operating expenses.

*Because the budget was approved on time, property tax bills can be sent out in a timely manner and with your payments, county government can begin operating on the new year’s revenues. It’s a much better way to do business.

*State statute requires that we pass our budget by June 30. Obviously, we have received permission in the past to extend that deadline, sometimes by several months. I believe it’s a good idea to show state officials we’re willing to do the work to get things done right.

The bottom line is that since we have our budget out of the way, we can get on with other county business. We can be more proactive, responsive, and focused on our present and future needs.

I’d like to thank everyone who was part of this process. I truly appreciate the hard work and cooperation that made everything come together at just the right time.