Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1991 TAG: 9102200457
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
County Administrator William Rolfe gave the Board of Supervisors a preliminary 1991-92 budget Tuesday night in which $55.7 million in spending would exceed the $53.7 million expected in revenues.
Less money from the state and high costs to build a new landfill were major contributors to the imbalance, Rolfe said.
Bedford expects $283,865 more in revenues next year than it did this fiscal year, according to the draft budget plan. That is only a 0.53 percent increase over 1990-91 revenues.
The county anticipates about $564,000 less from the state than it got this year.
But despite level revenues, the draft budget includes a spending increase of 4.1 percent, or $2.2 million, over this year.
Still, Rolfe told the board, "It's a pretty tight budget."
Of 66 departments, 21 made budget requests that were less than they received this year, he said. Seventeen others asked for the same amount as this year.
Increased spending requests came for items such as education, the landfill and other capital projects, the library system, recreation department and recycling.
The new landfill, for example, would cost the county about $1.2 million next year. By the time it opens in 1993, it will have cost about $3.6 million, Rolfe said.
"That's a whole lot of money for garbage," Rolfe said. But with state regulations and an almost-full landfill, the county has no choice, Rolfe said.
The draft budget includes three proposed new positions - a maintenance worker in the recreation department and two custodians.
It proposes no pay increase for county employees who do not work in the school system. And it includes no increased tax rates, except a proposal to raise the county nursing home daily rate from $55.34 to $56.17.
Under the draft plan, the real estate tax rate would remain at 62 cents per $100 assessed value. If supervisors were to raise that rate alone to balance the budget, it would have to increase by about 14 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to raise $2 million.
"Our first priority is to reduce the expenditures," Board Chairman A.A. "Gus" Saarnijoki said after Tuesday night's budget meeting. "And limit the tax increase to a minimum."
Closing the gap exclusively by cutting spending won't be easy, Rolfe told the board.
He gave a hypothetical outline of $2 million in spending cuts from the draft plan. By dumping plans to save $100,000 to pay for future property reassessments, $200,000 for an enhanced 911 system and $287,000 for needed repairs to the courthouse and other such items, the budget could be balanced. But the results could be devastating, Rolfe said.
Education is one of several areas likely to face cuts - a fact that won't sit well with the county School Board, which last week endorsed its own $36.6 million budget for next year.
That budget, which school officials presented to the Board of Supervisors earlier Tuesday evening, includes a 5 percent increase in revenues from the county and a 1.4 percent increase in spending overall.
The school budget also includes a 2.5 percent increase for school employees. Superintendent John Kent described that raise as necessary to keep Bedford County competitive with other school systems. Erasing the proposed salary boost could save the county $705,000.
Asked whether the school system raise was likely to make it through the budget process, Saarnijoki said, "We're looking at equity amongst all employees in the county."
After Kent laid out the School Board's budget request, Saarnijoki rose to give that board some gloomy news. "Whether we can fund it at the level you're asking for or not is going to be a question," Saarnijoki said. "We're $2 million short."
"It's going to be a struggle," he said. "We want to treat everybody equitably . . . without overburdening the taxpayers."
The supervisors will have to make some decisions about how to balance the budget quickly. On March 4, they must decide at what rate to advertise county taxes for next year. Once the rates are publicly advertised, they can be lowered, but they cannot be increased.
They will not adopt the budget until April 8, after an April 1 public hearing on the issue.
by CNB