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The draft will be on display for the public to view for 15 days at
the Logan County Courthouse. It then goes back for further
discussion before the board on Nov. 12 and 17 and final approval on
Nov. 17. If passed, it would go into effect on Dec. 1. All 12
board members were present: Rick Aylesworth, Kevin Bateman, Terry
Carlton, Robert D. Farmer, David R. Hepler, Gloria Luster, Bill
Martin, Patrick O'Neill, Charles Ruben, Jan Schumacher, John Stewart
and Terry W. Werth.
$5,000 for balloon fest debated
Discussion picked up with the most disputed issue raised during
last Thursday' s board of whole: a line item to take $5,000 out of
the farm account to go to the chamber of commerce for the balloon
festival.
Several guests were present on behalf of the chamber, including
Andi Hake, director, and Frank Shepke, chamber president.
Shepke had with him hotel-motel and sales tax records. The
balloon fest and other major events near that time raise revenues
substantially: Sales taxes nearly double. Downtown merchants
reported record sales this last year, he said. He added that when he
talks to people while traveling, they talk about the Lincoln Art &
Balloon Festival. It is a renowned event that brings publicity and
revenues.
Board members opposed to the measure had a couple of reasons.
John Stewart felt it should not be coming out of the farm fund and
that it is not something government should be doing. Kevin Bateman
thought that other festivals would want to be supported also and it
could get out of hand.
Jan Schumacher pointed out that it had been publicized to ask the
county for funds. Everyone was provided equal opportunity, but the
balloon fest was the only one that asked. She added that the balloon
festival and other festivals generate revenues; the balloon
festival, though, is above and beyond in how many people it brings
from outside the county and the revenues it brings in. So, it isn' t
just a handout; it' s an opportunity to generate revenue.
O' Neill agreed that given the packed crowds, no one could
dispute that the return on the donation to this festival is a wise
investment.
Stewart made a motion to remove giving $5,000 to the chamber for
the balloon festival out of the farm fund.
Vote:
Yes -- John Stewart, Kevin Bateman and
David Hepler
No -- Rick Aylesworth, Terry Carlton,
Robert D. Farmer, Gloria Luster, Bill Martin, Patrick O'Neill,
Charles Ruben, Jan Schumacher and Terry W. Werth
Motion failed.
In the original contract the chamber was asked to pay the county
the amount that would have been received if the ground was put into
crop. It was found since last week that the rate had been lowered to
$2,300 from the original amount of $4,250.
Ruben made a motion to make two amendments to the farm fund. The
first was to make a correction, the other to make it easier to
follow when the payments are made.
Amend farm revenue lines
Lower land rent from $46,920 to $43,307.
Add balloon fest rent, $2,300.
Vote:
Yes --- Rick Aylesworth, Terry Carlton,
Robert D. Farmer, Gloria Luster, Bill Martin, Patrick O'Neill,
Charles Ruben, Jan Schumacher and Terry W. Werth
No -- John Stewart, Kevin Bateman and
David Hepler
Motion carried.
3 percent raise pay raise for nonunion county employees
Discussion began over the 3 percent raise pay raise for nonunion
county employees
O' Neill said that surrounding communities are proposing early
retirements, looking for ways to offset declining revenues. "We' re
facing 10.5 percent unemployment," he said and currently have no
source of revenues to make up these 3 percent pay raises. He
projected that giving the 3 percent pay raise would mean taking
funds from services.
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He said that looking at county department budgets shows that the
departments are top-heavy in employee costs as it is. "In difficult
times it' s time to tighten the belt and deal with the No. 1
expense: salaries, wages, unemployment compensation, insurance and
retirement," he said.
O' Neill suggested that the highway department was a good example
of where you can see that the costs are mostly in salaries.
O' Neill noted that the highway budget shows $891,000 total
expense, with $623,000 of that in salaries, compensation and
retirement. That leaves only $270,000 for roads and bridge
improvements, he said.
Ruben explained that you can' t go by the information in the
county budget for the highway department and some others, because it
is not an accurate reflection of all the expenditures and revenues
in some of the departments. He said that there are other line items
than what the county sees.
Ruben called on county engineer Bret Aukamp to explain a bit more
about their budget and what is not shown.
Aukamp confirmed that the total expense is $891,000 and that
$550,000 is for salaries. He said that a lot of the payroll
reimbursement comes from motor fuel tax and that a lot of other
sources of funds are not seen. He added that the department receives
about $400,000 from property tax. And, he pointed out that about
half of the highway department' s operating budget is for payroll.
Ruben clarified that when the highway department does a project
using motor fuel tax funding, their payroll can then come out of
motor fuel taxes rather than county property taxes. "There are a lot
of other sources of funds that you will never see (in the county
portion of the budget)," he said. "It is a hard department to figure
out where all the funds come from, and it can be deceiving (to just
look at the county budget information)."
Aukamp contrasted how much is not shown in the expenditures, as
it would appear from the budget numbers that there is only a couple
hundred thousand dollars available for projects. "We' ve got a 4.5
million project going on right now," he said, referring to the
Elkhart-Mount Pulaski blacktop. "Two million of it is a state grant;
$2.5 million of it' s federal. Not a dime of it has been through
local taxes."
It was noted that departments such as the highway department that
rely significantly on outside funding sources all have their own
separate audits.
Amend the 2010 budget to remove the 3 percent pay raises for
nonunion employees
Motion by O' Neill; second by Hepler
Vote:
Yes -- O'Neill, Werth, Hepler
No -- Rick Aylesworth, Kevin Bateman,
Terry Carlton, Robert D. Farmer, Gloria Luster, Bill Martin, Charles
Ruben, Jan Schumacher and John Stewart
Motion failed.
Approve draft of budget for public display for 15 days
Motion Ruben; second Schumacher
Vote:
No -- John Stewart, David Hepler, Pat
O'Neill
Yes -- Rick Aylesworth, Kevin Bateman,
Terry Carlton, Robert D. Farmer, Gloria Luster, Bill Martin, Charles
Ruben, Jan Schumacher and Terry W. Werth
Motion carried.
Ruben addressed the board, saying, "We'll have both the 12th and
the 17th to discuss it. We must have a budget in place by the first
of December. That is the law." If anyone would have a problem with
the budget, the expedient way to do it would be through the
amendment process, he said.
[By
JAN YOUNGQUIST] |
