Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 17, 1995                   TAG: 9502170056
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET SHORT $2.4 MILLION

At a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors on Thursday night, County Administrator Bill Rolfe announced that the proposed budget for the 1995-96 fiscal year has a $2.4 million deficit.

And the deficit could grow larger - by several million dollars - if the county proceeds with immediate funding for growth-driven enterprises such as the planned renovations of the county courthouse and the construction of a new sheriff's office and emergency dispatch center.

``Some difficult choices will have to be made,'' Rolfe said.

The board has the unenviable task of making $2.4 million in cuts to balance the budget while trying to maintain a proposed 21-cent decrease in the real-estate tax rate.

Because the county reassessed homes this year - and some homes increased in assessed value by more than 50 percent - the budget proposes compensating homeowners by lowering the 65-cent real-estate tax rate to 44 cents per $100.

Meanwhile, faced with increased demand for services, the Community Development Department has asked for a new planning technician and the building inspector has requested more secretarial help to process the county's mounting pile of building inspection permits, which outpace all surrounding cities and counties.

The clerk of the Circuit Court asked for help in handling her overwhelming caseloads. All told, six new positions are proposed in the county budget, at a price tag of $123,000.

Also proposed is a 2.5 percent salary increase for all county employees.

And to top it all off, the $2.5 million deficit could grow.

The $5.1 million courthouse renovation project could add several million dollars to the budget if the board decides to pay for it with cash, as some members have proposed, instead of financing it with bonds.

Rolfe also warned the board that the county's 911 system, proposed to go on line in February 1996, could be delayed by several months if the county doesn't make immediate decisions about joining the Blue Ridge Regional Jail system.

Though the county voted last year to join the regional jail, it has until June to back out of its commitment; some board members apparently are pondering that move.

Rolfe said if the county waits until June to start construction of a sheriff's office and dispatch center, as required by the regional jail, the project wouldn't be completed until summer 1996.

The county's radio system, which doesn't reach some remote areas, also needs to be upgraded, he said.

Building the dispatch center and improving radio transmissions could require extra funds to be allocated from the coming year's budget.

The board begins planning sessions this month to discuss how to balance the budget. Though it has until the middle of May to make its final decisions, the budget probably will be released in April.