Nov 8, 2018 2 min read

The format of the 2019 Washington County preliminary general fund budget is slimmer than in years past at 32 pages, rather than last year’s 82.

“No information has been taken out,” said Joshua Hatfield, county director of finance. “It’s just in a different format now.”

But in another aspect, it’s fat, with requests exceeding available money by nearly $12 million.

That’s just in round numbers. The $98.2 million worth of budgetary expenditures exceeds estimated revenues by $11.89 million.

“It’s just a budgetary gap, not an actual gap,” Hatfield explained. “Typically, we do not spend all of our budget,” he said, saying the figures will change between now and the “posted budget” later this month.

Those who pay county taxes, however, should not recoil.

“There will not be a tax increase,” said Commission Chairman Larry Maggi of the spending plan the board is scheduled to adopt at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, in the public meeting room of the Courthouse Square office building.

“That’s just the beginning,” he continued, calling the preliminary document “a Christmas wish list.”

“It’ll be all whittled down. We can’t grow government. We have to try to slow this down. We’re spending money now to buy a new building.”

He was referring to the planned $370,000 purchase of the former Caldwell Building across the street from the main entrance of the courthouse to accommodate yet-to-be-determined changes in the configuration of the courthouse due to the addition of a seventh county judge in January 2020.

Millage on property taxes will remain at 2.43 for 2019.

The commissioners just last week approved a three-year contract for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 84 through Dec. 31, 2021.

It calls for raises of 2.5 percent next year for 36 adult and juvenile probation officers. Their raise for 2020 will be 2.75 percent and, in the final year of the contract, 3 percent. Their medical care will be covered under a health reimbursement account.

The county has yet to reach an agreement with deputy sheriffs and jail employees.

Hatfield said, however, the county has negotiated with Highmark a “rate hold” through its insurance broker.

The county is currently looking at a $19 million surplus, known in budgetary lingo as a “fund balance.”

County rules state an unassigned fund balance shall be not less than 10 percent of budget expenditures. In this case, that would be $9.8 million.