Official concerned with spending

The first two months' spending reports by department managers are trickling in and Commissioner Jeff Stabins said he's already concerned that managers are spending too much.

If spending is not curtailed, Stabins worries departments and constitutional officers will end up spending most if not all of their budgeted 2010 money.

To that end, Stabins recommended Tuesday the county administrator meet with department heads and ask them to spend only 90 percent of their budgeted money to avoid sending the county into deep financial straits next year.

At that time, the county will be facing a multi-million deficit, even after deducting the $3 million in reserves commissioners committed to spending.

"If every department and constitutional officer spends their full budget, we'll be in crisis mode again," Stabins said.

Because the preliminary numbers are from November and December, the spending figures are "all over the board," and he doesn't want to read too much into it yet, Stabins said.

However, if the spending trend continues, he said the county will be faced with unpleasant options next year, which include raising the millage rate, laying off more than 100 employees, shutting libraries and other services and dipping even deeper into reserves.

None of those options are palatable, he said.

"We're going to have 10 percent less money to spend in 2011 than there is to spend in 2010," said Stabins, who bases that on discussions with real estate officials, the property appraiser's office and economic indicators.

"If we can all come in 10 percent or better less, then the sheriff will only have to cut his spending by 2-3 percent for this budget year," Stabins said, recognizing the need to protect public safety and law enforcement.

"We'll do it as a team," Stabins said of the spending decrease.

Stabins said he has not discussed any of this with Sheriff Richard Nugent.

Contacted Wednesday, Nugent said his department has spent 14.48 percent of his $32 million budget for October and November.

If the department had spent 100 percent, that percentage would have been 16.67 percent, he said.

Nugent said Stabins has not talked to him about his plan but he would be willing to do so.

Asked why he didn't build in that 10 percent reduction into department budgets during the September hearings, Stabins said he "just thought of the idea" and the county did not have the software available at the time to track department spending.

Stabins said he knows that departments have been forced to do more with less this year after commissioners cut their budgets. But that is no excuse, he said, for not being frugal.

"They have to (cut spending)," he said. "If they don't, there will be bad options. Let's not address this in September and ... and face a multi-million deficit (when) we can address it now."