Rejecting a tax increase, DeKalb County commissioners proposed a budget on Thursday with $33.6 million in cuts that will impact every service in the county.
Commissioners said the budget cuts equal about 800 layoffs, but they were confident that much of the savings could be obtained through other reductions. In June, the commission will determine if layoffs are necessary.
“We expect no one to be laid off between now and June; we're not shutting down government,” said Commissioner Lee May, chairman of the budget committee.
However, CEO Burrell Ellis, who previously called for a 2.32 mill property tax increase, insisted there were no other places to cut besides staff.
“The level of cuts we’re looking at is a reduction in 800 employees or furlough," Ellis said. "This will severely impact the level of service in this county."
The commission’s budget committee unanimously approved the budget on Thursday, and the full commission is scheduled to approve it on Tuesday.
One person losing his job in the proposal is Public Safety Director William “Wiz” Miller, who makes $150,000 to oversee police and fire operations.
The budget proposal includes an 8.9-percent decrease across the board for most departments. The exceptions are police, fire and the sheriff, which will receive a 4.46-percent decrease. However, commissioners insist the police and fire cuts can be made without losing any officers or firefighters.
The budget cuts are based on Ellis’ spending plan and not actual 2010 expenses, May said. Police will be cut from $107 million to $102 million. However, records show the police department spent only $97 million in 2010.
The CEO created the public safety director position and hired Miller in 2009 with the intention of consolidating administrative duties in the police and fire departments so more officers could be moved to the street. However, commissioners said they had not seen any increase in patrols and couldn't justify keeping the position.
Ellis defended Miller’s job and rejected a request by Commissioner Larry Johnson to terminate the director for inappropriate comments, which included Miller saying he “could care less” about Johnson’s recommendations.
Commissioner Elaine Boyer said the elimination of Miller’s office will come because it is an unnecessary expenditure, and not because of Miller’s recent actions, which still bothered her.
“We were told there were efficiencies and there have been none,” Boyer said. “But any time a position in high authority speaks in an insubordinate fashion that sends a clear message that you do not respect your elected officials and should be fired.”
Other staff cuts could be paramedics, with the proposal calling for privatizing ambulance service by June. Commissioners said they hope any paramedics in the county can either be cross-trained to fill vacancies in the fire department or be hired by a private ambulance company. Privatization will save an estimated $4 million this year and $8 million next year, May said.
“The way that is currently proposed, we lose money,” he said.
Budget cuts also include $155,800 from the CEO’s office and $283,700 from the board of commissioners. Under the commission’s budget, all recreation centers will remain open, but one of the two satellite tax offices will close.
Other cuts include $1.14 million from the district attorney and $683,000 from the Superior Court. On Tuesday, the district attorney, sheriff and chief superior court judge said the proposed cuts would hurt public safety and slow justice.
However, on Thursday Sheriff Tom Brown said he can make the needed decreases.
“He will work his budget so he will not compromise the safety of his employees or the jail,” Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Adrion Bell said.
On Thursday, commissioners laid out a bleak financial picture and what they called fiscal mismanagement by the administration. They cited a $7 million deficit, the spending all of the reserves and people hiding employee expenses in other departments.
‘The administration overspent $7 million last year and we didn’t know about it,” May said. “We begin $7 million essentially in the hole.”
These problems ultimately led to two crediting rating agencies downgrading DeKalb’s bond rating this year, officials said.
In response, the commission’s budget committee will review each department’s expenses at the end of every month. Any department that overspends its monthly budget will be called out and ordered to explain its spending, May said.
“We’re going into each department to look for cost efficiencies, restructuring; that’s step number one before you can either consider a tax increase,” May said. “We don’t have enough information from the administration for a tax increase and I don’t trust the information I have for a tax increase.”
Ellis defended his $563 million spending plan and called the commission’s proposal “political posturing and showboating.” He attributed the increase to higher pension and health care costs. Under his proposal, the average homeowner would receive an annual $264 a year tax increase for a home valued at $200,000.
Citing increased water rates, gas prices and food bills, Boyer said thousands of residents have told her they don't want a tax increase.
“This is the third tax increase proposed since the administration has been office,” Boyer said. “This is my 19th year on the board and it operates the same way. We can’t do that anymore.”
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