Operational budget increases are needed

Taylor County appears to be easing up on the brake slightly when it comes to setting budget goals for departments, and that is a good thing.

For most of the past two decades, the county board has called on departments heads to bring in flatline operational budgets and in some years called for budget decreases.

While ordering staff to hold the line on operational increases may appeal to the fiscally conservative sensibilities of many on county board, and in the community, as a long-term policy it is ultimately shortsighted and sets department heads up for failure.

After many years of calling for 0% operational budget increases, the county’s finance told department heads to prepare budgets with an up to 2% increase. At the same time, the county’s budget-setting committee is taking aim at the growing number of reserve accounts throughout the county.

A mantra in private sector management is for business leaders to set clearly defined, attainable goals. At a time when everyone is dealing with rising costs, it is an unrealistic fantasy to expect department heads to continually do more with less operational resources.

The reality is that many departments would work to hold the line, while some of the biggest county departments would have unavoidable increases resulting in overall spending increases. One of the side effects of this longterm zero growth goal for budgeting has been the growing reliance of departmental reserve funds. In general government budgeting, departments are given so much to spend each year. At the end of the year, any money that is left over goes back into the county’s general fund. Reserve accounts allow departments to squirrel away money for future purchases or project. This can be an effective budgeting tool for replacing assets like vehicles by allowing departments to save up for replacement over several years. They become less effective, and more prone to abuse the more there are. Taylor County currently has about 180 reserve accounts on its books, some of which are more active than others.

Reserve funds are controlled primarily at the department level, which makes them an effective tool to work around the unrealistic 0% budget mandates that have been the standard in Taylor County.

The county board is correct in wanting to consolidate and eliminate many of these reserve funds. The only way to do this is by accepting that at times departments will need to spend more money in one year than in prior to future years. Allowing budgets with a 2% increase is far from reckless spending at a time when the federal consumer price index is currently at 2.67%. It is a cautious step in the right direction toward more realistic and attainable budgeting county-wide.

Members of The Star News editorial board include Co-Publisher Carol O’Leary, Publisher Kris O’Leary and Editor Brian Wilson.