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No-surprises county budget advances Budget panel members approve document, with an eye toward shortfalls in the 2003-04 fiscal year By JILL BRISKEY When July 1 rolls around, Jackson County will spend $97,687 to boost security in the courthouse, purchase a new voting machine and increase the salary of all its elected officials. It will also slash the next sheriff's salary by more than $3 an hour, decrease the Southern Oregon Historical Society's annual funding by $100,000 and cut a previously grant-funded position of domestic violence investigator from the district attorney's office. Friday morning, the six-member Jackson County Budget Committee wrapped up four days of public hearings and approved $239,691,273 for the 2002-03 fiscal budget. "We pretty much stayed within the realm we had," said commissioner and committee member Jack Walker. "I'm pleased for the most part." "I think we have a good program in place for next year," added County Administrator Sue Slack. "I'm very proud of it." There were no surprises or controversies during this year's budget process. Additionally, Deputy County Administrator Dave Kanner said no one department or program was singled out for significant cuts this year. Instead, the committee members denied several requests for new positions within various departments. With a budget crisis looming, the committee actions will spare future cuts, Kanner added. Kanner anticipates shortfalls to hit during the 2003-04 fiscal year, when the county's federal funding loses pace with inflation and property tax revenues drop below the growth and demand for services. "They sent us a very clear message that we need to start cutting the budget," Kanner said. "We all know in a year or two that we're going to have to make some heavy cuts." Last year, the committee approved a rainy day fund and allocated $1.8 million. This year, the committee added $2 million, bringing the fund's total up to $3.8 million. Despite a trend to deny new positions or programs that required continual funding, the committee did agree to pump out more than $97,000 to install security cameras and hire security guards to protect its courthouse. Currently, the county has no security fund for its building at 10 S. Oakdale Ave. Volunteers are posted to help answer questions from the public and alert staff of suspicious circumstances. The committee also approved salary increases for all elected officials, including commissioners. The county pays 15 percent of the district attorney's salary, and the new budget increases their contribution by 7 percent to $17,000. The county assessor's salary will increase 1 percent to $68,276, the clerk's 3 percent to $67,464 and commissioners' 3 percent to $62,670. The budget committee suggested a 3.79 percent increase for commissioners, but Walker argued for a 2 percent increase before the members agreed to boost commissioner's hourly rate to $32.43. The justice of the peace will see a 3 percent salary jump to $34,000, the surveyor 6 percent to $57,391 and the sheriff will get a temporary 3 percent bump to $80,469. Committee members voted to cut the next elected sheriff's salary to $73,924 when either Mike Winters or sheriff's Capt. Ed Mayer is elected in September. The new sheriff's salary will be a penny more per hour than Mayer currently earns. Other budgetary items include allotting $15,000 to the county's fairgrounds for work on its master plan. The library must make a handful of cuts following the budget's approval, said library director Ronnie Budge. "In order to meet our budget target, the library budget needs to be $189,000 less than I requested," she added. While the district attorney's office will lose its domestic violence investigator, it will retain an investigator position in its victim-witness program. The committee chose to keep that position by not creating a new spot within the assessor's office. The budget committee is made up of all three commissioners and three unpaid community members appointed by commissioners. Lay members are Tim Alford (president), Valerie Root and Dick Rudisile. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.