|
|
| county trim budget by 1.1 million |
| By Kathryn Wall, news-leader.com |
| Published: 11/22/2011 |
|
What began as a $1.4 million shortfall has been whittled to $300,000 in the Greene County budget for 2012. Two weeks ago, county officials crunched the numbers and found a $1.4 million gap between what they had hoped to fund in 2012 and the revenue they anticipate. The plea went out for cuts, and officials have now eliminated about $1.1 million of that gap. "Hats off to the officeholders and department heads for some creative thinking," County Budget Officer Jeff Reinold said Thursday. While additional, smaller cuts could potentially come as the budget process continues until a formal deadline in January, officials are only eyeing one additional large cut. County Administrator Tim Smith suggested during a Thursday meeting that commissioners ask that fewer inmates be sent to other county jails. As of now, the estimates for the cost of sending 30 inmates per day to other jails are about $500,000 for the year. Smith suggested commissioners ask Sheriff Jim Arnott, who currently sends inmates to other jails when populations in Greene County Jail reach 520, to raise that number to 535. "That's more than we want, that's more than we've been doing, but that puts us in the ballpark," Smith said, adding that Arnott seems willing to raise the number slightly. That change is expected to cut the cost in half -- but only if the total number of inmates doesn't often exceed 550. "There's just this last part that's going to involve risk," Smith said. There's also the risk that sales tax revenue, estimated to be up 2 percent next year, doesn't rise to those projections. If sales tax drops or inmate numbers increase, more difficult decisions might have to come in 2012. But there was some hope Thursday. Associate Circuit Judge Mark Powell suggested county officials meet with judges to discuss putting a revised plan in place to combat jail overcrowding. “click here for more information” . |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think