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Sunday, Jul. 20, 2008

Anatomy of Peach County's budget

Putting together a budget - and sticking to it - can be hard enough for a household of three or four, but what about a budget for 25,672 or so people and that runs more than $15 million?

It's a chore government entities go through every year, and it can be at times a tedious process involving long hours staring at columns of numbers, recalling events and situations from the past year, justifying expenses and trying to realistically anticipate the future.

The process starts in early April in Peach County, said County Administrator Marcia Johnson, with the payroll being updated and department heads being asked to budget for the coming year.

"Most department requests are within reason, and some are more meticulous about asking for exactly what they need," Johnson said. "Then again, some ask for too much, knowing it will be cut."

After about three weeks, Johnson and finance department personnel put the requests together and present commissioners with the budget requests for the coming year, all neatly crammed into a ponderous, 4-inch thick three-ring binder notebook.

"We have some advantages in putting the budget together, such as our size, for example, when compared to Fulton County," Johnson said. "We're blessed in that the commission takes pride in the budget document. It's because they care."

Commission members keep in touch with the department heads throughout the year, she said, and are aware of what's going on in most departments. There aren't that many surprises in budget requests, she added.

"They personally know the department heads and how they work," she said. "At times they add to a department's budget if they feel it's been underestimated."

It's not completely about the bottom line, she said. When projects come up that require putting out bids, commissioners "want what's good, what will work, not just the lowest bid," she said.

"You have to temper the optimism of budget requests with a realization of the funds that will be coming in," she said. "The factors involved are similar to what people go through with their individual budgets, and take into account that health care and fuel costs are always increasing."

After a series of meetings in May and June with the department heads, who are quizzed on the requests, commissioners settle into a series of work sessions and literally go line-by-line through the budget. It's a process that starts at the end of the work day and can last up to 11 p.m.

The five commissioners, Johnson and Michaela Jones, accounting manager, gather in their upstairs work room at the courthouse annex and pore over the figures. At times they'll contact department heads to clarify any issues.

Here's a sample from a June 26 work session on the budget:

Commission Chairman James Khoury: "I see here where motor vehicle maintenance wants $1,400, up from $400. Let's cut that to $1,000 because maintenance costs have been at low levels. Equipment rental costs have gone up, and I see it's for some things we don't have such as a trash compactor, mower, a grader. Cut it to $15,000. We may have to raise fees."

Commission member Roy Lewis: "But let's not decide on a figure right now because the contract is up in January."

Khoury: "Now, $469,000 for a new computer system. Can we use SPLOST for this?"

Jones: "There's $68,000 left in the 2004 SPLOST."

Khoury: "What say you, Walter?"

Commission member Walter Smith: "It's an all-in-one system."

Johnson: "This is just for the 911 system."

Khoury: "This has gone way up from $15,000 when it was first proposed, and I pushed for it, but commissioners said then the mapping system was 'space age technology we didn't need.' But computers have to work together."

Lewis: "It's something I'd like to do, but how are you going to pay for it? The 50-cent charge for telephones will never pay for it."

Khoury: "It'll be worth the money for the safety factor, I'm not going to argue with you about that. Leave it in now and we'll come back to it."

Lewis: "You find the money for it, and I'm there."

Just then, Jones gets a cell phone call from a department head about a specific budget amount.

Jones: "I called you because you didn't have the write up on the budget."

Khoury: "Should we hold off until we get an explanation?"

Jones: "Can you IM it to me? Or e-mail it to Marcia? Tell you what. Send it to me g-mail and I'll pick it up."

A question comes up concerning a software request for the fire department.

Khoury: "This is firehouse mobile software, nine units at $1,350 each. We've got five stations, why nine of these?"

Johnson: "Probably some for the trucks."

Khoury: "Still, cut to five or four."

Lewis: "Make it four."

Khoury: "OK. Now, what's this $275,000 for new accounting software?" He chuckles knowingly.

Jones: "Don't you touch that! We're still using a 13-year-old DOS-based system, and we desperately need this."

Khoury: "Marcia, how much have we cut so far?"

Johnson: "You've cut $135,500 so far tonight."

And on it went until they stopped, around 10:30 p.m. They would return around 8 a.m. the next day to continue. Commissioners put in about six such late-night work sessions on the budget, Johnson said.

Next up is a Thursday meeting to consider the millage rate and the budget for the coming year, Johnson said. The current rate for Peach County is 14.375 mills. The general fund budget stands slightly higher than $15.8 million. That number still may change before Thursday, she said.

"The commissioners want the budget to work, get the funding available and determine the cuts to be made," she said.

To contact writer Jake Jacobs, call 923-6199, extension 305.