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ImageResponding to advice from County Administrator Joe Mareane and Finance Director David Squires, the Legislature’s Budget, Capital and Finance Committee today endorsed proposed policy changes and the first in a series of internal budget transfers to bring the 2009 County budget into balance.

The administrator told the committee that continued erosion in sales tax revenue, shortfalls in various human service programs and an expected deficit in the Assigned Counsel budget have increased the projected 2009 budget shortfall by $1.2 million more than earlier projected, to about $3.5 million.
On the policy side, the committee recommends the Legislature approve

  • A flexible freeze on hiring, with only the most essential positions filled;
  • A flexible freeze on equipment purchases greater than $2,000, with all such purchases reviewed by Finance and authorized by Administration; and
  • A one-year suspension of the County’s rollover policy that would allocate departmental personnel-related savings generated in 2009 to offset projected 2009 County deficits, rather than being retained by the departments.

The resolution also recommends that the County Finance Director be authorized to execute more than 40 initial internal account transfers to align available resources and financial need to address the projected 2009 shortfall.  The expected shortfall reflects deficits in sales tax receipts, state aid, social services programs, interest earnings, and the Assigned Counsel budget.  Available resources come from nearly $1.8 million in federal stimulus funding, among other sources.

Looking ahead, County Administrator Joe Mareane said the County must begin immediate discussions with its State Legislative Delegation and join with other counties to have the State’s Maintenance of Effort rule for Indigent Legal Defense waived and ultimately eliminated.  Under the policy, counties must spend at least as much on indigent defense as the prior year to receive any state aid.  While now not expected to affect the County’s current year budget, it could produce a detrimental effect in 2010.

The Legislature will consider the fiscal recommendations August 18.

The budget committee also recommended that the County contract with Ithaca Dispatch to provide a new rural feeder transportation service that would implement an on-demand pilot program in the Towns of Enfield and Newfield.  The program, supported by federal Job Access and Reverse Commute grant funds, State Transit Operating Assistance, and rider fares, would connect people to and from centrally located rural bus stops to Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) routes.

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