Commissioners adopt $29.1 million budget for 2015
WAYNESBURG – Greene County commissioners voted Thursday to adopt the county’s $29.1 million budget for 2015, a spending plan that is higher than this year’s budget but will hold the line on property taxes.
The total operating budget includes the general fund and state and federal funding for county programs, as well as proceeds from Marcellus shale natural gas drilling impact fees.
The 2015 budget is nearly $2 million more than last year’s budget, which totaled $27.4 million.
The budget includes $19.06 million for the general fund, $1.78 million for core human services and transportation programs, $2.88 million for children and youth services, $2.55 million for human services block grant funding, a $1.12 million state liquid fuels fund, $558,372 for domestic relations, $467,150 for drug and alcohol services, $227,912 for the 911 fund, $219,850 in Community Development Block Grants and $241,500 for the tourism fund.
The 2015 general fund budget will see an increase of $1.3 million from this year’s general fund budget.
Officials said that although some departments will experience revenue decreases because of state and federal funding cuts, the overall budget will see an increase due to salary and benefit increases for management and union, an increase of 12 percent in medical insurance and an increase in general liability and property insurance.
“Costs are up and state and federal revenues are down, but the impact fees are going to help keep our infrastructure where it needs to be, without putting the entire burden on the general fund budget,” said county Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall after the 2015 proposed budget was announced at the commissioners’ Nov. 13 meeting.
The county received $3.6 million in impact fees this year, and is expected to receive approximately $3 million in 2015.
The county will use $366,000 from the fund balance to balance the 2015 budget. There is approximately $2 million in that funding stream, officials said.
Marshall said Thursday that there were no changes or amendments made from the proposed budget after its tentative approval last month.
Commissioners also agreed to rescind a resolution that was approved at the November meeting to approve a tax anticipation note (TAN) loan for 2015.
Commissioners typically accept the TAN loan each December for the following year; the loan can be used to fund county operations from the first day of the year until the tax collection starts and also could be used to balance cash flow if the state or federal grants that make up a certain amount of the budget are slow to reimburse the county.
After the resolution was approved at the November meeting, Marshall said that the maximum amount that the county would borrow is $2 million, with a breakdown of $1 million for the county’s general fund and $1 million for the human services program.
However, on Thursday, commissioners agreed to rescind the resolution for the TAN because the loan is not needed at this time, Marshall said.
“We feel with our fund balance that we now have the funds necessary to get us to the period of time when taxes are paid,” he explained. “If we end up needing the TAN loan, we can still take it out when that time comes…but right now, we’re in good shape.”
Marshall that even though the TAN loan was approved last December for 2014, the county did not need to use the loan because of a sufficient fund balance.
Commissioners also approved setting the millage rate for 2015 at the same levy rate as this year. The 2015 millage rate of 7.535 mills represents a rate of 6.77 mills for the general fund, or 67.7 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation; 0.695 mills for county debt; and 0.07 mills for the Greene County Library System.
In other matters, the commissioners agreed to tentatively set the dates and times in 2015 for their agenda and regular board meetings, as well as the meetings for the county salary, retirement, prison, assessment and sinking fund boards.
In January, February, March, April, May, June, September and October, the board of commissioners will hold their agenda meetings on the first and third Wednesdays of each month and the regular board meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month.
In July, August, November and December, the board will hold one agenda and regular meeting each during those months.
All of the meetings will be held at 10 a.m. in the first-floor meeting room of the county office building.
The prison board meetings will be held on the third Wednesday of each month, except for the months of July, August, November and December, when the meetings will be held following the commissioners’ agenda meeting scheduled during those months.
The meetings will be held at 11:45 a.m. in the first-floor meeting room, except for March, June, September and December, where they will be held at the Greene County Prison at noon.
The county salary and retirement board meetings will be held immediately following the commissioners’ second regular board meeting each month, except for July, August, November and December, when the meetings will be held immediately following the only regular board meeting scheduled during those months.
The assessment board meetings will be held immediately following the first commissioners’ agenda meeting in March, June, September and December.
The sinking fund board will meet on Jan. 8, for reorganization and will then meet as needed. Public notification will be made if future meetings of the sinking fund board will be needed.
The county’s election board will meet on May 8, and Oct. 16, immediately following the commissioners’ regular board meetings. The commissioners will notify the public if future meetings of the election board will be needed. Public notification also will be made prior to election board meetings.