County commissioners went line-item by line-item to trim the sheriff’s budget. They rejected an offer of surplus funding from one elected official’s budget to avoid  potential problems with the State Auditor’s office.

PRESIDING COMMISSIONER Ron Jost reviews with Northern Commissioner Matt Penning some proposed cuts Penning identified in the Sheriff’s budget. The budget is available for public review at the Count Clerk’s office in Hermann.

When all is said and done next Thursday (Jan. 28) when the budget is formally approved, commissioners may have spared all the jobs in all  county departments but for how long. Jerry Lairmore, commissioner from the Southern District, insisted the county project anticipated sales tax revenues at $20,000 above what they received this past year for General Revenue and another $20,000 for Road and Bridge.

That figure is optimistic considering school officials across the state were warned this past week not to expect any additional funding this coming budget year. They were also warned the recession could be especially hard on public entities through the 2011-12 school year.

County Clerk Lesa Lietzow noted in a budget recap issued Tuesday that expenses had been cut by $114,349 since Jan. 7 and “revenue was re-estimated up by $79,300 more.” The sheriff’s jail budget was slashed in half over spending from 2009 but no manpower was reduced from the patrol. The county’s clerk was angered at the unwillingness of the sheriff to trim “real expenses” from his budget — namely manpower —and vowed not to sign checks for jail expenses or Swiss Substation costs once his budgeted funds are exhausted.

As Lairmore would say near the end of the session, “I can’t say it’s been fun. And I know it hasn’t been fun for elected officials.”

“I guarantee, elected officials are happy they still have their staff,” said Lietzow after the hearing which end at 11:20 a.m. Jan. 14. “(They are) very grateful that didn’t have to happen this year.”

Collector Shawn Schlottach called the financial forecast “gloom and doom” and Treasurer Joey Gross told the commission to figure anticipated revenue from “where we were last year.”

The question throughout the year, however, is will staff cuts be needed later this year if — or when —the money runs out.

Beginning 2010 with a balance of $156,509, the General Revenue fund expects to close out 2010 on Dec. 31 with a slim carry-over balance of only $33,436. That budget assumes estimated revenues of $1,944,783 (a total of $2,101,292 available with carry-over balances from 2009). Budget requests for expenses, including emergency fund spending, was listed at $2,067,856.

In the Road and Bridge fund, the county carried a $327,678 balance into 2010. The 2010 budget shows only $50,922 for a balance in 2011.

Estimated revenues are listed at $1,944,360 with total funds available of $2,272,038 with the carry-over funds. Budgeted requests for expenses are listed at $2,221,046.

In a nearly 3-hour long meeting Thursday in Hermann, commissioners ironed out the budget with help from elected officials.

One of the more difficult budgets to deal with for the commission in was spending for the sheriff’s department which ended up accounting for 39.79 percent of General Revenue funds —down from 42 percent in the week before their final budget hearing.

Sheriff Randy Esphorst noted he had a mission to find $64,000 to cut. “I think we accomplished that between Lesa and myself,” said Esphorst. Still, he noted, $24,000 remained to be cut.

“I think I can save that money,” he said by contracting for only 10 prison beds in Montgomery County for the entire year. If  the 10 beds are bed slots are filled, he plans to reschedule those serving weekend shock incarcerations.

“I’ll keep 10 beds including weekenders. I think that’s an affordable, doable figure,” he said.

At $41 per day, for 10 beds for 365 days, Esphorst set his jail budget at $149,650. He said he would not fill an open transport jailer’s slot at a savings of another $25,000.

Sheriff Randy Esphorst also told Northern Commission Matt Penning he did not plan to commit, at this time, the discretionary funds he had available to pay the difference over the county’s contribution which employees must now pay for their insurance coverage. A prior commission action, approved in late December, has county employees picking up some of the cost of their own insurance.

Penning asked if those funds could be put back into General Revenue. “Right now,” said Esphorst, “I’m not ready to commit that money.”

Esphorst said he wanted to “hold that money until the end of the year if needed” and would operate his three budgets —  Sheriff’s Patrol, Jail, and Swiss Substation — on $833,000.

By the end of the morning, however, Esphorst and the commissioners  would trim another $10,000 from his budgets.

“It’s penny ante but it all adds up,” said Esphorst.

Penning questioned the sheriff’s “discretionary fund” which includes a donation for a school booster club’s program, a water contract, and a monthly meal for his deputies. “I applaud you for standing up for your people and getting them everything you can but we have to be fair to everybody else,” said Penning.

Jerry Lairmore, commissioner from the Southern District pointed out County Clerk Lesa Lietzow cut another $10,000 to $12,000 by taking steps — including eliminating a maintenance contract on election machines — to help balance the budget.

“I absolutely did everything I could,” said Lietzow.

She was critical of the budget for the substation noting the sheriff’s cuts left him with only $14,000 for telephone ($1,000) and Internet service, utilities ($10,000) and computer services ($3,000). “The bottom line it $14,000,” she said. Earlier, Lietzow noted $4,000 had been cut from the substation budget for maintenance and utilities. “You’re obligated to run that,” she told the commission if the budget funds ran dry.

Esphorst countered that he had $55,000  less to spend this year than last year. Cutting one deputy would add another $35,000 to that total.

“I want to be able to keep 24 hour a day, seven days a week coverage for the county and I’m working one short already,” said Esphorst noting his jail transport/court bailiff staff was one short.

After the sheriff left the meeting, Lietzow pointed out they would lose reimbursable funding from Ameren Electric if they cut the Emergency Management budget.

Noting they had gone from an anticipated shortfall of $157,000, Lairmore noted they now had a modest $29,348 balance to the positive side of the ledger. That figure would end up being $33,436 in the final budget.

Lietzow noted they had planned to make a $100,000 transfer from Road and Bridge as allowed by state statute. She said if a county’s Road and Bridge Department spends $2 million or more annually, the county may make an “administrative transfer” of up to 5 percent of that figure, or up to $100,000, into the General Revenue fund.

Previously, counties could transfer only 3 percent, said Lietzow.

“Is there something else we need to be looking at that I’m not seeing,” asked Lairmore. “Am I missing something.” He added the numbers were “kind of running together.”

Lietzow made the first of two critical comments directed at Esphorst’s budget proposals.

“The Sheriff’s budget never took the hit. The Jail budget did,” said Lietzow. “Randy, in essence, has cut nothing from his budget. He cut a man he didn’t have.”

She pointed out there was $4,000 cut in his Swiss Substation budget for utilities leaving only $10,000. After that is spent, she told the commission, “You’re obligated to run it.”

As to his plan for cutting his prisoner housing budget, Lietzow offered this: “When the prisoner board hits $149,650, when the board goes over, that’s when I stop writing checks. He’s cut nothing.”

Her frustration with the process continued.

“I busted my ass,” said Lietzow. “Shawn (Schlottach) busted her ass.”

Lietzow cited several other office holders who made deep cuts to their budgets and continued saying, “They all busted their asses. I’m upset greatly. When is this fair. Come on guys. Look at this fairly. We busted our asses this week. I can’t let that go unsaid. I just think when the other offices find out he’s cut nothing, I think they’ll come unglued.”

Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost questioned if they had, indeed, frozen salaries for this budget year. Yes, Lietzow told him but explained that the sheriff’s staff gained an “extra employee in an administrative position, highly paid, and he’s there all year.”

She noted his name was on the budget and he, “does not fill a (patrol) slot.”

Lietzow’s frustration continued when she added, “My name has budget officer behind it and I feel I have the right to sit here and say what I have to say.”

Comparing their $50,000 cushion from 2009 to their anticipated $29,000 balance at year’s end for 2010, Lietzow commented, “$29,000 isn’t much of a cushion. We knew we had a cushion but we don’t have a dime” compared to last year.”

With the final numbers crunched, that cushion was listed at $33,436 provided revenue comes in as anticipated.

Commissioners proceeded to make proportional cuts to voluntary contributions to the Gasconade County Historical Society, Soil Water Conservation District, and the Gasconade Valley Enterprise Zone.