County shaves budget proposals

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle Reporter
Published: April 3, 2008

County officials have proposed to “flat line” the school board’s budget.

This proposal would keep local funds to support the schools’ 2008-2009 budget the same as the current one, rather than accepting its requested 13.7 percent increase.

“It has major implications for us,” Superintendent Brenda Tanner said of the proposal to keep the county’s contribution toward the school’s operating expenses for the coming fiscal year at about $7.2 million, close to $1 million less than requested.

“We will have to look at how we need to adjust salaries. This could impact more than just salaries, it could also impact programs,” she said. The school board is expected to revise its budget to align with the county’s request at its 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 meeting.

The schools’ requested budget included a proposed average salary increase of five percent for all employees, which had been revised from an earlier request of seven percent. The second revised increase is close to two times the average rate of inflation for 2007.

Although county officials were able to shave a total of $1.2 million off of their 2008-2009 workshop budget during work sessions last week, proposed spending is still $4.8 million more than income estimates.

Adjustments were also made to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office budget, which had included a 14.8 percent increase. Officials reduced projected expenses related to shooting range training, which had increased due to the closing of the county’s shooting range in June 2007.

The costs were reduced since the board is currently discussing re-opening the shooting range located on the transfer station property off Shelby Road (Route 662).

Another decrease in expenses was due to a 50 percent cut in the amount Madison County was previously requested to contribute toward the Central Virginia Regional Jail’s operating expenses. The governor had proposed to eliminate an exemption, which applies to the jail, that allows the jail to keep the $50 per day per federal prisoner it receives from the federal government. The exemption applied to CVRJ since the state’s share of the jail’s $5 million construction cost was less than that of the federal government’s share.

Even with the 50 percent cut, the coming fiscal year will be the first time Madison County – as well as the four other counties the jail serves – has had to contribute anything toward the jail’s yearly costs. The regional jail, which is in Orange, has previously paid for its yearly operations and two previous expansions with funds from the federal government and investments, according to the jail superintendent. Due to an increase in inmates from the five localities, the jail no longer has the space to house additional federal prisoners and has requested the five counties contribute toward its expenses, the superintendent has said.

Officials had anticipated that they would approve a balanced budget to be considered at an April 8 public hearing, however this hearing has been postponed.

County officials are waiting for the commissioner of revenue to provide them with the total value of property in the county, which is being revised due to the recent reassessment. This number is needed in order to set an “equalized” tax rate, which must be set following a reassessment to ensure that the property tax revenue the county receives this year is no more than one percent higher than the county’s 2007 total property taxes collected.

County representatives had planned to schedule the upcoming public hearings regarding its budget and tax rate during its regular monthly meetings, however this will not be the case, according to officials.

Once the board approves a balanced draft budget, officials are expected to advertise a summary of it in an upcoming edition of The Eagle for two weeks prior to the date of a corresponding public hearing.

(CVWG Reporter Susan Gibbs contributed to this story.)