County faces $6M budget shortfall
Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram
“Unfortunately, I’m not here to paint a pretty picture for you,” county Budget Director Lisa Hobart told county commissioners Thursday.
Commissioners are already talking about cuts next year and the possibility of taking another stab at sales tax levy similar to the one voters shot down by a wide margin last year.
Although the county’s spending has actually dropped over the past two years, so have revenues, the budget projections show.
For instance, the county general fund spent about $63.5 million in 2006 and nearly $60.3 million in 2007, but revenues dropped from $80.2 million in 2006 to $75 million in 2007.
This year,
Next year,
It’s grim news, Commissioner Lori Kokoski said.
“There’s going to have to be some tough decisions that have to be made,” she said.
Kokoski’s opponent in November, Avon Lake Councilman Martin O’Donnell was skeptical about the figures.
“It seems like the county budget hearings are kind of like the weather,” he said. “If you wait a week all the numbers have changed.”
O’Donnell said the commissioners lost credibility as good stewards of county money when they tried to force the sales tax on residents last year and then didn’t campaign for what they called a needed increase when it was placed on the ballot. O’Donnell said he questions whether the commissioners are doing all they can to trim costs.
The problem, Kokoski said, is that the county’s justice system eats up more than 70 percent of the county budget. That and other mandated services leave little left over for optional county services such as Lorain County Transit, which the county is already in the process of cutting.
“The commissioners’ budget is not the problem,” Kokoski said. “We haven’t increased that much, but if you look at the court system, the sheriff’s department, the safety issues are what’s going up.”
The problem could be made even worse, Commissioner Ted Kalo said. If a plan to merge the county’s Probate and Domestic Relations courts into a single Family Court next year goes into effect, it could cost the county another $600,000 to $700,000 annually.
The county jail is already in need of an additional $400,000, Sheriff’s Capt. James Drozdowski said Thursday. Coupled with state and local concerns about overcrowding at the jail, there’s a good chance a study underway will show a new jail is a necessity.
That would really hurt the county financially, but there might be no choice, Kalo said.
“We’ve got to look toward the future needs of the county,” he said.
Commissioners Kalo, Kokoski and Betty Blair all said that an income tax levy, which if it increased by 0.25 percent would bring in about $7.4 million annually, is a possibility.
But Amherst Councilman Nick Brusky, R-at large, who is running against Kalo and led the petition drive that resulted in the tax going to referendum, said he wouldn’t support a sales tax increase, unless there was a dire need and the measure was approved by voters. The commissioners, he said, need to learn to live within their means.
“It’s a tougher thing to do, but I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Cuts can be made, Brusky said, but he added that he can’t provide specific examples of where that should happen until he’s in office.
Blair said without an $8 million carryover, the county will also begin to lose borrowing power as its bond rating plummets.
Cuts are also a possibility, although when the county tried to make cuts last year, most of those were restored after various departments said they wouldn’t have enough money to operate properly.
Kokoski said if cuts are made, the last place they would happen would be in safety areas such as the sheriff’s department.
But the hard reality, Blair said, is that the county can only spend more money than it takes in for so long.
“In the end, there’s going to be a time when we run out of money,” she said.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram July 18th, 2008 in Local and State. Popularity: 9% |
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Comments
Comment from
Pete
July 18, 2008, 7:34 am
What am I missing? If the figures are accurate in this article, that means just for 2006 & 2007 there should be a $31.4 million carryover. The commissioners need to live within their means like the households they represent.
Comment from
xfiles
July 18, 2008, 8:09 am
Didn’t they just do a study on the jail a few years ago?? They were going to build a bigger jail and the cost was huge.
Sorry to say, but Lorain causes alot of their own problems. There have been businesses that wanted to open up in Lorain, but city council did not approve them if I can remember right. So many businesses have closed and moved out of Lorain and has anyone tried to stop them? I think they tried to keep Ford in Lorain, but that is all I can think of. More busineses will close this year in Lorain, so there will be even less tax money coming in.
Again, they want to put it onto the taxpayers backs. I notice the people that talk about more taxes always have enough money (they sure are not struggling). I can’t be the only one who notices this.
The city needs to live within its means and maybe instead of burdening the taxpayers, the city workers, safety departments, commissioners, Mayor etc should all take a pay cut. That would put more money in the budget. I like that idea. Lets put that to a vote on the ballot.
Bash away!
Comment from
carrie
July 18, 2008, 8:23 am
The article state that cuts were attempted last year but didn’t happen because departments said they couldn’t operate properly. So, the powers try to do their job adl employees just whine like children and say “I need that”? Maybe it’s time for everyone to work together.
Comment from
MyLyria
July 18, 2008, 9:07 am
Perhaps if they didn’t feel the necessity to have big screen LCD TVs in their offices and other such extravagent “necessities” this wouldn’t be a problem. What JOKE!
Comment from
BEN DOVER
July 18, 2008, 3:20 pm
WHAT A JOKE!!! Funny how we have to live in our means, but they can spend and spend !!! I’ve said it before but one of the BIGGEST money pits their wasting “OUR” money on is the stupid airport. Oh its going to bring business, blah blah blah. You will NOT get a tax passed commissioners so you really should put your thinking caps on and figure how to live in your means. And quit with the scare tactics of cutting funds for transit sheriffs etc. We’ll take away the sherriffs BUT were going to dump tons of $$ into an airport .
Comment from
Jenn
July 18, 2008, 4:55 pm
I agree that if the numbers reported are correct - there is certainly something that the rest of us are missing?
I find it ironic that they keep bringing up transit - something which helps the citizens of the county as a non mandated service but don’t mention a thing about the county airport. Is that helping anyone?
Comment from
KenB
July 19, 2008, 8:17 am
Folks the election is not far off now, so its time to do as the old saying goes, (Out with the Old and in with the New) The young County Dems have run this County into the ground, its time the young Republicans get elected to straighten out their mess.
I am voting for Nick Brusky and Martin O’Donnell for County Commissioner this fall, reason being Lorain County needs new fresh leadership, folks are County is only as good as the people who are in charge of it. The ones who are in charge of it now have failed us.
The jail issue was supposed to be solved back in the mid 90’s, so what is up with that? I guess we needed a fancy Lorain County LCT hub in downtown Elyria more than solving the Jail issue. If you’re not aware the County Commissioners bought the Old Train Station behind the Old Elyria post office to make it into a Hub for LCT, and if you don’t know about it the LCT is loosing money and some bus stops have been cut.
Oh ya how can the present County Commissioners get free advertisement with all three of their pictures on the billboard and that ugly blue sign at the Airport?
Ken Behner
Comment from
Timonator
July 19, 2008, 9:26 am
I too have noticed commissioners pictures posted on the back of all LCT vehicles…I dont care if they want me to Recycle or NOT its my choice not theirs! Why do they continue to get Free Advertising! maybe they could sell these billboards to private companies who would pay for the service! As far as the Jails concerned..its time to trim some of the fat at the sheriffs department Too many captains..and administrative staff! County politics taking care of the “Good Ole Boys” wastes alot of Money..Also If we could get Rid of Judge Burge..that would save the taxpayers of Lorain County a bundle too! He spends way too much time trying to be in the spotlight by fighting the death penalty at the expense of county taxpayers Just a few suggestions!
Comment from
Lovinglife4me
July 19, 2008, 10:09 am
It would be interesting to know what all those signs cost with the commissioners pictures on them. It certainly can’t be cheap. We all know it’s easier to get elected when you have your name out there for people to remember. They probably think they’re pretty smart doing it at tax payers expense.
Comment from
Jenn
July 19, 2008, 2:37 pm
It’s not free advertising. Solid Waste is paying for the Ad. The advertising revenue goes to Transit.
Each sign costs money, but is reusable. You can call transit to find out their going rates for the signs (I know they outsource them) as well as how much per month those Ads are costing.
Comment from
BEN DOVER
July 19, 2008, 4:29 pm
Jenn, I think what was meant is theat their names and faces are plastered all over everything from buses to benches to fly swatters to huge billboards at the airport, and that they aren’t paying for it, WE as TAXPAYERS are, hence IT IS FREE ADVERTISING FOR THEM!! They are SOOOO wasteful of our hard earned money. These examples of their personal advertising show how they are mearly concerned about their reelection then to spend on whats right for the good of the taxpayers. Trust me, WE ALL KNOW YOUR NAMES and it will make it easier at election to say ” I’m not voting for this person!!!
Comment from
KenB
July 19, 2008, 7:34 pm
Ben
Thank you! Jenn what I meant is Kalo and Kokoski are getting free political advertisement as you know the are running again for County Commissioner this fall.
Now I thought that the sign at the Airport was suppose to have company names on it that are at the Airport doing business. So why doesn’t it show any company names on it?
Comment from
BEN DOVER
July 20, 2008, 8:32 am
Also wonder what they did with the real nice Sandstone sign that we the tapayers bought for them a few years back? Guess it wasn’t good enough and couldn’t fit their names on it. AND if it is an Airport that WE the taxpayers paid for , WHY aren’t all the taxpayers names on it?
Comment from
johnbear
July 20, 2008, 10:10 am
Kalo is just the guy I want handling our finances for the county, since he did such a good job with his own business!!!
Comment from
Jenn
July 20, 2008, 11:17 am
Oh, my comments weren’t meant as to say that in essence, it isn’t free advertising for them. I just meant to show that the various departments that are advertising (the recycle on being Solid Waste) was basically a free advertisement for the commissioner’s paid for by various departments that are under them.
It just rubs me the wrong way that the commissioners are the focus of the advertisements and not the actual departments - does that make sense? Great that county departments are using transit to advertise (the number of miles that they travel, and the number of people who are exposed to them clearly show they work!), but I too don’t like staring at a commissioners face telling me to recycle.
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