Fayette County budget on commission agenda for passage
Fayette County commissioners agreed to place the 2014 budget on next week’s agenda for passage, but it remains unclear if the spending plan will be finalized at that time.
Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink said Tuesday that, although the officials will continue to meet, she believes there are too many unresolved matters that will allow for the adoption of the $32 million budget.
Since the presentation of the tentative budget last month, the officials have met once to review some staffing requests but made no substantial cuts to the nearly $3 million deficit.
“No decisions were made,” said Zimmerlink. “No numbers were changed.”
Zimmerlink said that Samuel Lynch, senior consultant with Susquehanna Group Advisers Inc. of Harrisburg and the county financial consultant, has revised health care cost and salary figures since the meeting.
However, it is unknown the impact to the budget.
“I have looked (at the revised budget), and I did see where some of the wages (and other figures) had been changed,” she said. “What that meant, I could not see.”
Zimmerlink said that the commissioners were recently notified that the tax assessment office would need two additional full-time staff if it were to impose a revenue producing Universal Parcel Identification (UPI) number fee of $10 to all deeds produced by the office.
The department budget would also have to be increased to provide needed equipment for the positions, said Zimmerlink.
While it appears to be a worthy revenue stream, Zimmerlink said that the commissioners have yet to formally address what it will cost to have the program put it place.
“It sounds good, but what is it going to cost to perform that function?” she asked.
The commissioners are to meet today to further discuss the budget.
Turning to other matters, the officials agreed to again discuss having monthly work sessions to streamline the lengthy agenda and regular meetings.
The discussion of adding another meeting to schedule began in October with Zimmerlink offering to conduct the work sessions the third Thursday of each month. While Commissioners Al Ambrosini and Vincent Zapotosky initially agreed to the date and time, both later said “no” to the plan, with Ambrosini stating it conflicted with the prison working board meeting. Zapotosky said that he also agreed in haste without checking his schedule.
Zimmerlink had proposed that the session be held to discuss only matters tied to the construction of the new prison.
On Tuesday, Ambrosini offered the topics include “any and all county business with the emphasis on economic development.” If approved, the meetings would be held the second Monday of each month at 10 a.m.
“The first resolution (by Zimmerlink) was restricted to the jail,” said Ambrosini in offering the alternative meeting scope.
Zapotosky said that if the advertisement of the meetings were not restrictive, any topic could be discussed.
“It could be any and all topics,” he said. “It could be the correctional facility or any other topic of importance.”
Zimmerlink said that she has long advocated work session and pointed to a resolution made by her in January, 2012, to conduct weekly meetings.
The measure was unanimously approved, but the meetings were never advertised or conducted.
“The resolution is still in effect,” she said. “A simple legal notice is needed.”
Zimmerlink said that instead of conducting public meetings, informational meetings are being held and decisions made with no input from her.
“It’s been very obvious from past commissioner meetings that the new jail and the annex issues are not being addressed,” she said. “When I ask of status (of the projects), no one knows.
“I initiated the work session for new jail and annex only because of the magnitude of the issues that need addressed that are not being addressed.”
Ambrosini revised the resolution to include all county business and added to the Dec. 17 regular agenda.