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Commissioners combing through individual budgets
As the deadline for publishing the county budget draws near, Bourbon County Commissioners continue to scrutinize department budgets.
On Friday, the commissioners met with Terry Sercer of Diehl, Banwart and Bolton CPAs, who has been working with the county's budget, and Valorie LeBlanc, assistant county attorney, who also has been working closely with the commissioners on the budget.
During Friday's session, while discussing whether the mill levy would not increase by more than 1 mill, Sercer reminded commissioners that unlike a school district which receives state and federal aid, the county's budget is strictly mill-driven.
Increases, such as those requested by the sheriff, could not be given without increasing the mill levy.
"I'm not picking on anyone here, but the sheriff provided a lot of detailed information," Sercer said.
He suggested next year the commissioners require all department heads to also provide details as the sheriff had, but also department heads should base their requests with actual numbers. When commissioners began their budget work sessions, they had in hand a report of actual expenses and revenues as of June 31. Sercer suggested that information can be the basis for creating the new budget.
When LeBlanc arrived later during the session, she began quizzing Sercer and the commissioners on some numbers in the roads and bridges budget. She asked if the roads and bridges budget had been scrutinized like all of the other budgets.
Jim Harris, Roads and Bridges director, was not available Friday, but did meet with commissioners Monday to review his budget.
"We need to go over your budget with a fine tooth comb, just like we have everybody else's," Second District Commissioner Barbara Albright said Monday.
While going through some of the line items, Albright said some money has not been placed in the correct area, which does not change the bottom line.
Harris asked commissioners what the odds would be of opening a third quarry in the southern portion of Bourbon County in 2015.
"I think we could recoup some fuel costs if we open a quarry in the southern district," Harris said. "In a few years, we could recoup some money."
Harris said the county has exceeded the amount budgeted for fuel this year in the roads and bridges department by $127,000. The commissioners also have asked Harris to look at replacing two aged dump trucks.
The county has taken on several asphalt projects this year, which means the county's equipment is being used more frequently and dump trucks are traveling to and from the quarries more often and sometimes from one end of the county to another, Commission Chairman Allen Warren said.
"Are you willing to live with an adjustment in the mill levy?" Commission Chairman Allen Warren asked.
It would cost about $50,000 to open a quarry, which does not include the cost of fencing the area.
"I think we should," Third District Commissioner Harold Coleman said. "We'd save on fuel, wear and tear, the third quarry would be ..."
"A huge savings," Harris said, finishing the sentence.
Adding a new quarry would add a half a mill to the levy, which if nothing changes between Monday and when the proposed budget is approved for publication, would bring the increase to a little more than 1 mill.
As of Monday morning, the mill levy increase was estimated at .851 mills.
No decision was made on whether to include the cost of opening a new quarry in the 2015 budget and they continued scrutinizing the roads and bridges budget.
Another unknown is whether the county will have to replace the boilers in the courthouse and correctional center.
On Friday, the commissioners met with Maintenance Supervisor David Neville to determine what expenses he expects for the remainder of this year.
"There's three things that come to my mind. The first one is the boilers," Neville said. "We put a patch on that. It could go a while or not go a while, but we're talking about two hundred grand to replace it."
He also said minimum repairs have been completed on the county attorney's office roof, and while this has been an easy year on air conditions, the units are aging -- especially the one for the jail, Neville said.
"That could get expensive," Neville said.
"When talking about replacing the boilers, it's scary," Warren said.
He said replacing the boilers would result in a 2.5-mill increase.
"We're going to try to baby it," Neville said.
Warren suggested the county could create a replacement schedule for the air conditioner units.
As of the end of July, there has been 67 percent of the fund spent. Warren said it should be 58 percent.
So far, the commissioners are not including a 2-percent salary increase for employees. However, some department heads are getting at least a portion of their request. The sheriff requested an additional five deputies and to replace a pickup. As of Monday, commissioners had agreed to one additional deputy and a replacement truck.
The Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center will most likely add one employee in 2015, but the request was for three.
The Bourbon County Clerk's Office will be able to hire one additional employee and the Register of Deeds Office will be able to hire a half-time employee.
A work session is scheduled for 1 p.m. today.