Without offering specifics, DeKalb county commissioners and staffers agreed Thursday that service cuts are the most likely way to lower a proposed tax hike.
The county last week announced a 4.5 mill tax hike, which adds about $93 a year on an average home worth $155,000.
CEO Burrell Ellis put forth a budget proposal that lowered that increase to the 4.35 mill rate, but a majority of commissioners have made it clear they will only approve an increase that is less than that.
Chief Operating Officer Richard Stogner expects to return to the commission’s budget committee next week with an updated forecast of how the county is faring this year.
Commissioners are in the process of developing their own proposals for reductions but have so far not made any public recommendations.
“The only way we get lower than that number is new revenues, which I think we’re tapped out on, adjusting costs, and outright reduction of services,” said Commissioner Lee May, who heads the budget committee. “We have to look at opportunities of reducing services across the board.”
Any reductions could be one-year cuts, though. County staffers are developing bid proposals for outside consultants to help with restructuring departments and outsourcing some services.
Changing personnel could reap substantial savings. An analysis by Finance Director Joel Gottlieb showed the county’s overall costs increased just $1.1 million from last year once salary and benefit costs were removed from each department’s spending.
Those changes could reshape the 2012 budget, which is already being developed even though the 2011 budget is not final.
Another potential change for 2012 would be changing the county’s fiscal year. The county now runs its budget on the calendar year, meaning it doesn’t have a clear handle on its revenues until property values are given in the summer.
Stogner has asked the commission to consider shifting to a July to June fiscal year. If the commission agrees, the county would adopt a 2012 budget in January for the calendar year, then switch over to a 12-month calendar starting on July 1 of next summer.
Before that can happen, the commissioners must decide on cuts for 2011. The commission has until July 12 to adopt a final tax rate for this year.
"We are two weeks away and have to take action," Commissioner Elaine Boyer said. "The public is not going to accept no cuts, no furloughs or no layoffs with a tax increase."
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