By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
CASSOPOLIS – County Administrator Terry Proctor presented the Cass County Board of Commissioners with a 2008 budget Thursday night totaling $28,315,918, including a $13,538,133 general fund and $14,777,785 in other funds.
Proctor said the $13,538,133 represents about a 1-percent spending increase over 2007's $13,393,787 general fund.
The spending plan for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 has been streamlined, with all 51 funds contained in one volume.
There will be a public hearing on the budget on Aug. 2, when the meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.
Commissioners next meet at 4 p.m. July 19, when there will be a hearing on enlarging the Road Commission from three to five members.
Proctor explained that the budget details two kinds of funds – government activities, such as those supported by taxes, and business activities, which attempt to recover costs through user fees.
Cass County derives 60 percent of its revenue from property taxes, Proctor said, expressing concern about intergovernmental revenue, such as state and federal grants, which have been declining.
His budget proposes a change in his office to hire a grants specialist to address these partnerships. Proctor also proposed a study of service charges.
Proctor credited a combination of conservative management and strong growth in parts of the county for some opportunities.
At his recommendation, commissioners met in closed session to discuss the state's offer to sell the county Dodd Park near Sumnerville, with its river access.
Another move would consolidate purchasing with computers in the information services office, giving Kerry Collins a deputy director like the clerk and treasurer enjoy, with the assistant heading up an aerial photograph project.
Proctor also advocates reinstating employee training eliminated two years ago. While Cass County keeps pace with technology developments, skills of the people who operate it are "stagnant," he said. The proposed budget calls for 168 employees, or less than the current year.
If revenue sharing is not reinstated, the county could be faced with a loss of more than $1 million, or 6.5 percent of its general fund revenues annually.
Wages and salaries comprise 45 percent of general fund expenditures. These costs are estimated to increase an average of 2.5 percent per year.
Health care costs for current employees, the third-largest expense in the county's general fund, are projected to rise 10 percent per year.
Certain utility costs are also estimated to continue outpacing inflation.