Spending restrictions put the squeeze on Lane County budget.Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard Say you're a Lane County family making $50,000 a year. You're promised a 3 percent raise again next year, but at the same time, your cost of living - health insurance, car insurance, gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by - keeps going up faster, at least 6 percent overall. Financially, you're falling further and further behind. What do you do? Spend your savings? Stop dining out Dining Out is one of the many traditions held by the military today. The history dates back to when Roman soldiers would hold dinners in honor of an individual. Later, British naval officers held a "guest night" to relax with other military personal and honored guests. ? Shop for clothing at secondhand stores? Skip the family vacation? Multiply this example by a thousand, and you get a glimpse of what county officials are grappling with as they put together a budget for the fiscal year that begins in July. At first blush Adv. 1. at first blush - as a first impression; "at first blush the offer seemed attractive" when first seen , Lane County's $414 million budget seems huge. But three-fourths of that funding comes to the county through federal and state appropriations and grants and has to be spent according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. their guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. . In addition, the county has a general fund of $96 million, but nearly half of that by law must be shared with other governments, designated for capital improvements, used to support self-sustaining county operations or put aside to pay employee benefits and self-insurance premiums. That leaves only $52 million in the county's discretionary general fund - the amount that has no strings attached and can be spent as the county commissioners decide. That's the pot of money available primarily for law enforcement, parole parole (pərōl`), in criminal law, release from prison of a convict before the expiration of his term on condition that his activities be restricted and that he report regularly to an officer. and probation, juvenile justice, public health and mental health programs and other county support activities. However, the funds to pay for those services - primarily revenue from property taxes - have been limited by statewide voter-approved limitation measures to 3 percent a year. At the same time, the cost of doing county business has been going up far faster than that, largely because of skyrocketing costs for health care and retirement benefits for current and former employees. What's a county to do? Like families caught in a budget squeeze, the county has to "live within its means," County Administrator Bill Van Vactor says. The budget committee - made up of the five county commissioners and a citizen appointed by each - has begun several weeks of meetings to try to figure out how to make that happen. Asking county voters to OK new taxes to support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services would ease the budget crunch (1) To process data. See number crunching. (2) To compress data. See data compression. 1. (jargon) crunch - To process, usually in a time-consuming or complicated way. , but it's not an option the county commissioners want to pursue, Van Vactor said. In the past seven years, Lane County voters have turned down 11 bond measures that would have provided money for improvements to the jail and other county facilities. County residents, "through multiple opportunities, have spoken," Van Vactor said. "If citizens find the service levels too low, they will let us know." Instead, the commissioners instructed each county department to prepare a preliminary budget 9 percent less than the one for the current fiscal year, which would save $4.1 million and create a $500,000 fund toward restoring any services the commissioners determine to be critically needed. Based on priorities set by the departments, the probable cuts would include: Not prosecuting many misdemeanor misdemeanor, in law, a minor crime, in contrast to a felony. At common law a misdemeanor was a crime other than treason or a felony. Although it might be a grave offense, it did not affect the feudal bond or take away the offender's property. By the 19th cent. crimes Closing 26 more beds at the community corrections center next to the Lane County Jail Reducing sheriff's office patrols to less than around-the-clock coverage Limiting use of the juvenile detention facility to one-third of its 96-bed capacity and eliminating services such as the Pathways residential treatment program for delinquent delinquent 1) adj. not paid in full amount or on time. 2) n. short for an underage violator of the law as in juvenile delinquent. DELINQUENT, civil law. He who has been guilty of some crime, offence or failure of duty. boys Operating many mental health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract at one-half capacity Eliminating rural public health clinics While cities, counties and states throughout the country face serious budget difficulties, Lane County's have their own unique character. Federal agencies - primarily the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management - own more than half of the county's land area, which means the county collects no property taxes on those lands. The county does receive payment in lieu of Instead of; in place of; in substitution of. It does not mean in addition to. taxes, but that amount is set by the U.S. Congress, and reauthorization of the law, which expires in 2006, can not be guaranteed. According to budget information prepared by the county, its permanent tax rate stands at $1.28 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, far lower than the city of Eugene's rate of $7 and the $6.71 combined rate of the city of Springfield and the Willamalane Park & Recreation District. Lane County receives only 9.2 cents of every property tax dollar collected; the remainder goes to cities, school districts and special districts throughout the county. Among Oregon's 36 counties, only Hood River The Hood River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Approximately 25 mi (40 km) long from its mouth to its farthest headwaters on the East Fork, the river descends from wilderness areas in the Cascade Range on Mount Hood and flows County, with a population of 20,500, has a lower tax rate than Lane County. The number of county employees has shrunk shrunk v. A past tense and a past participle of shrink. shrunk Verb a past tense and past participle of shrink shrunk, shrunken shrink in the past 25 years. In 1980, Lane County had 275,000 residents and 1,765 county employees. Last year, with a population of 329,000, the county employed 1,530 workers. WHAT'S NEXT Lane County will hold frequent budget committee meetings until mid-June, when the county commissioners will adopt the 2004-05 budget. Meetings will take place in the commissioners' conference room in the Public Service Building at 125 E. Eighth Ave. in downtown Eugene. Work sessions: 5:15 p.m. on May 4, 6, 11 and 13 Opportunities for public comment: 5:15 p.m. on May 18 and 20 Public hearing: 9 a.m. on June 16 Information: 682-4203 |
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