County tightening its belt

DAYTON–The Columbia County Commissioners (BOCC), including Commissioner-elect Marty Hall, met with County Auditor Anne Higgins at the meeting on November 30, to prepare the 2021 budget for final approval on December 7. The 2020 budget ending fund balance was reduced to $290,000, far less than the 2019 carryover of $600,000, which will make the first few months of 2021 tight.

With the Commissioners' decisions, including the Prosecutor's Assistant Attorney and the Sheriff's Department Equipment Rental and Replacement, the 2020 budget ending fund balance is reduced to about $290,000 which, according to Higgins, is money that needs to be there to carry the County through the first four months plus whatever funds are collected by the Treasurer's office.

Last year, $600,000 was carried over into the 2020 budget and it was tight, according to Higgins. Treasurer Carla Rowe pointed out that the sales tax from the fourth quarter of $600,000 is expected at the beginning of the year, which will contribute to the 2021 budget current expense. A reserve of $1.4 million is set aside.

The Commissioners discussed issuing a 1.5% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) versus a 2% COLA. They decided on the 2% increase, an addition of $4,000.

Five step increases across departments were discussed based on merit or longevity to be approved for the budget. Step increases for the majority of the departmental requests will be considered at a later time, possibly in March 2021 after additional money comes in. In March, there will be amendments of the departments' actual cash balances into the budget following the December reconciliation.

Commissioner Chuck Amerein said he fully understands merit increases but with the sting of the 2020 pandemic, it is difficult to adequately compensate employees because finances are just not there this time.

"I definitely understand merit increases," Amerein said. "I wish perhaps 2020 hadn't been the year it was, we could've probably gone forward with regular pay increases across the board for everyone. It's this year that we're trying to figure out how to keep people and reward with some merit, if we can. Also, just keep everyone afloat. I guess that's the problem. It's not a case of not thinking that people deserve merit, it's more the case can we afford to give everyone merit and trying to factor in how do we give merit when there's less to give out."

A key topic for the budget was the need of the Sheriff's Department. The recent loss of Chief Deputy Connor Ehr, who left for better pay in a nearby county, leaves Sheriff Joe Helm and Undersheriff Robbie Patterson taking Ehr's responsibilities. Helm would prefer to hire two road deputies rather than replace Ehr at this time. Additionally, he is requesting a pay increase for the Undersheriff and Chief Deputy, when hired, to keep the wages competitive. The Commissioners agreed to this increase.

The Commissioners strongly stated the need for an Assistant Prosecutor because Prosecutor Dale Slack is already spread thin and the County has to often pay to work with outside attorneys to handle things when Slack is overbooked. Judge Marinella expressed concern that another attorney would increase criminal filings and make more work for the courts. The hope, according to Commissioner Amerein, is that the assistant wouldn't necessarily be creating more work for the courts, but free Slack up for handling the various County legal needs.

The 2021 Budget is expected to be approved formally at next Monday's meeting. The new salary schedule as worked on by the Salary Project Committee will be presented with budget also for adoption.