DALTON, Ga. – Whitfield County commissioners voted Monday to keep taxes low, but doing so means the five-man panel now has two months to scour the budget for cuts or make tough decisions on staffing levels and benefits.
Keeping the 5.061 rate was the right thing to do in this economy, said commission Chairman Mike Babb, but as taxpayers struggle, so does the county.
Figures show it will enter 2011 with a massive – and growing – shortfall. Last year’s budget had a $6.5 million hole, which the county shored up with a transfer from its $21.8 million reserve fund.
In the next year, that same deficit will be carried over, and on top of that, the county will face reduced income from residential and commercial property tax as well as increased costs from health insurance.
The county can again pull from reserves, but doing so at the same levels as last year will deplete the so-called fund balance, which is typically supposed to contain at least enough money to fund county operations for a full 90 days.
But county leaders may be eyeing furloughs, which send employees home for unpaid leave or perhaps a reduction in staff.
“We still have a reserve fund to pull from,” Babb said. “But 63 percent of our budget has to do with personnel and benefits. This next year we have to do something with furloughs and layoffs.”
Babb said he prefers furloughs because it allows employees to keep benefits and their jobs.
Last year, commissioners were presented a budget that contained nine furlough days for each nonconstitutionally mandated employee, but the board declined that option. It could have saved $750,000 said Ron Hale, the county finance director.
On top of last year’s shortfall, the county will face a $1.5 million loss in residential property tax revenue, Hale said. Commercial property tax assessments are not complete, and that number is also supposed to deliver a hit to the county’s bottom line, Hale said.
County leaders, over the last month, have been taking budget presentations from each department as they look to make cost-saving cuts. Commissioners must adopt a budget by Dec. 31, 2010, Hale said.