Boone County Commission holds first public hearing on county budget

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, November 27, 2018

There was no public comment Tuesday night at the first public hearing on the proposed $86.8 million Boone County budget for the fiscal year that begins Jan. 1.

Boone County Auditor June Pitchford compiled the spending plan after weeks of work sessions with the Boone County Commission and representatives of the various county departments. Highlights of the budget include nearly $700,000 to replace the Boone County Clerks election equipment, $620,000 to add dispatchers to the Boone County Joint Communications Center, $2.2 million to upgrade the centers radio network and $3 million to rehabilitate neighborhood streets.

Pitchfords proposed budget would mark a 6 percent increase over the $69.6 million she expects the county will have spent by the end of this year. That number came in far lower than the $82.2 million initially budgeted, in large part because the county has a high number of vacant positions. The county also did not spend the emergency appropriation that state law requires it set aside and has rebudgeted a $1.6 million replacement of its financial software for next year, Pitchford said in her budget message.

The auditor again cited challenges the county faces because of its heavy reliance on sales tax to fund its operations. Although she is projecting a 0.25 percent increase in sales tax revenue, or a total of $50.5 million, she noted the tax is volatile given the increasing popularity of untaxed internet purchases.

Sales tax accounts for about 70 percent of county revenue. By comparison, property taxes, which Pitchford expects will bring in about $5.4 million next year, account for about 7 percent of annual revenue.

The budget also forecasts $2.48 million in revenue from the countys lease of Boone Hospital Center to BJC HealthCare. Total revenue is expected to be $72.38 million, which would be 1 percent less than last year. Pitchford noted in her budget that 2018 saw the county receive $1.8 million in federal Community Block Grant money to help with infrastructure serving the American Outdoor Brands development on Route Z.

The additional staff at the joint communications center would accommodate a plan to consolidate the Sheriffs Department dispatch channel with those of smaller municipalities and to operate a separate dispatch channel for the Columbia Police Department. Pitchford said in her budget message that should improve dispatch services significantly.

Boone County Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill praised Pitchfords work on the county budget.

Its not easy to deal with county finances when the population continues to expand and the revenue stays pretty low, Atwill said.

Pitchford first presented the budget to the county commission at its Nov. 15 meeting. Two additional public hearings are scheduled for Tuesday and Dec. 6 before the commission approves the budget sometime in mid-December.

The budget attempts to address six priorities, Pitchford wrote. Those are:

Maintain fiscal stability within the countys major operating funds, including the general, road and bridge, law enforcement services, childrens services and 911/emergency management funds.

Maintain competitive salaries and benefits for the countys workforce. The budget calls for a 1 percent increase to the minimum and maximum pay rates reflected on the countys salary range, $276,000 for employee raises given at the discretion of administrators and $202,000 that would allow the county to make contributions for workers to the County Employee Retirement Fund.

Provide the additional joint communications staff, a new accountant in the auditors office and a new data analyst in the Community Services Department, along with establishing a new professional development division in the Sheriffs Department by reassigning four corrections positions.

Provide funding for routine replacement of equipment, vehicles and technology; to replace the countys financial software.

Replace election equipment.

Provide routine maintenance and preservation of county roads and bridges. The budget includes $21 million for the Road and Bridge Fund, $3.3 million of which would be distributed to cities and the Centralia Special Road District. It also sets aside $3 million for one-time funding for a subdivision concrete rehabilitation and replacement project.

Supervising editors are Scott Swafford and Sky Chadde.

Proposed Boone County budget for 2019 Proposed Boone County budget for 2019