Commissioners adopt Greene County budget
WAYNESBURG — Greene County commissioners voted Thursday to adopt the county’s $25 million budget for 2012, a spending plan that will be smaller than this year’s budget but would hold the line on taxes.
The total operating budget includes the general fund and state and federal funding for county programs.
The budget includes $14.75 million for the general fund, $2.88 million for core human services and transportation programs, $2.48 million for the mental health and retardation services, $2.08 million for children and youth services, a $1.12 million state liquid fuels fund, $632,636 for domestic relations, $530,282 for drug and alcohol services, $320,000 for the 911 fund, $191,608 in Community Development Block Grants and $180,000 for the tourism fund.
The 2012 overall budget has decreased by roughly $1.2 million from 2011. Officials said the decrease can be mostly attributed to decreases in state grants, which will impact many of the county departments.
County Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said at the commissioners’ meeting in November — when the 2012 budget was initially proposed — that because revenue is decreasing the county tried to make sure that expenditures also decreased. However, in some departments, such as the 911 center, it was impossible to keep expenses down because services still need to be provided and union contracts must be honored, officials said.
The county will take $96,000 from the fund balance to balance the budget. There is currently more than $2.5 million in that funding stream, officials said.
Commissioners also approved the millage rate for 2012, which is the same as the current rate.
The 2012 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.
The budget was tentatively approved in November and was available for public inspection before being adopted at the commissioners’ regular meeting Thursday.
Marshall said there were no changes or amendments made from the proposed budget.
In other matters, the commissioners agreed to tentatively set the dates and times in 2012 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, 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 April, July, August, November and December, the board will hold one agenda and regular meeting each during those months.
A reorganization meeting for the board of commissioners will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3.
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 April, July, August, November and December, when the meetings will be held immediately 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 Corner Cupboard Food Bank in Waynesburg at noon.
The county salary and retirement board meetings will be held on the third Thursday of each month immediately following the commissioners’ regular board meeting, except for April, July, August, November and December, when the meetings will be held immediately following the regular board meeting scheduled during those months.
The assessment board meetings will be held immediately following the first commissioners’ agenda meeting in January, March, June, September and December.
The sinking fund board will meet on Thursday, Jan. 5, for reorganization and Thursday, Feb. 16, immediately following the salary and retirement board meetings. Public notification will be made if future meetings of the sinking fund board will be needed.
The county’s election board will meet on Thursday, Jan. 5, for reorganization and Thursday, April 12 and Thursday, Oct. 18, immediately following the salary and retirement 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.
For more information regarding the schedules for the county meetings, call the commissioners’ office at 724-852-5210.
In other matters, commissioners appointed and reappointed members to various county boards effective January 2012.
Brent Burnette was reappointed and Eric Marshall was appointed to serve as board members of the planning commission; and Donna Furnier, Reed Kiger and John Mariner were reappointed to serve on the tax abatement board.
Cindy Diaz was appointed to serve on the Community Action board, and Commissioner Pam Snyder was appointed to serve as commissioner representative on the Greene County Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Bob Stephenson was appointed to serve on the Children and Youth Services advisory board; Leonard Fitzpatrick, Vicki Monas and Suzanne Swinchock were appointed to serve on the human services advisory board; and Becky Walawander, Lena Galing, Melody Longstreth and Cookie Popielarcheck were appointed to the tourism board.
Commissioners also reappointed Karen Bennett to serve on the Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services (SPHS) board; Janet Mawhinney to serve on the fair board, Chuck Baily to the industrial development authority board; William Cree III, James Willis and Carl Biddle to the farmland preservation board; and Gertrude Busti, Larry Pettit and Kimberly Coles to the board of assessment appeals.
Commissioners also approved five appointments to the Administrative Review Panel for the Greene County Merit Hire System, which will replace the civil service system currently implemented by the county.
Marshall said the panel would consist of human resources employees from various local businesses, and would be responsible for reviewing general disputes by county employees in a quicker and more efficient fashion.
Snyder said other counties in Pennsylvania have successfully used the merit hiring system.
Appointed to the panel were attorney Jeff Grimes; and representatives from Southwest Regional Medical Center, Waynesburg University, Alpha Natural Resources and Consol Energy.