BY JUSTIN SABATA
Discussions on next year’s budget started about an hour into the February 17 Ellis County Commissioners meeting, and lasted for about an hour itself. The deliberation began with a spreadsheet presentation from interim county administrator Darin Myers that displayed projections for the county budget in the following years.
The spreadsheet explained the current economic situation of Ellis County, projecting the general fund to be in the red by the year 2025 based on current spending and previous trends in health care and commission budgeting.
“We’re about $325,000 short,” Myers said. “So, we can start making different changes to this (spreadsheet) and, in all reality, that’s not that far out.”
Myers also explained the importance of acting now and the value of decreasing current general fund spending.
“If we were to decrease these numbers within the general fund expenditures if we decrease them by about 450,000 (dollars) this year,” Myers said. “Once we get out to 2025, that 400,000 (dollars) that we save now equates to about 1.3 million (dollars) then.”
The interim administrator and three commissioners further discussed the details of the spreadsheet, plugging in certain numbers to show the effects it would have on the county budget. After the presentation and into further deliberation by the commissioners, it was determined county departments could most likely face cuts and possible layoffs by next year in order to relieve the projected budget. However, the commission also said that shorter workweeks were also a possibility.
There was one department, though, that should not be in consideration for decreases according to Commissioner Dean Haselhorst, as he spoke out against any cuts to the road and bridge department.
“We have chiseled that department every year since I’ve been a commissioner,” Haselhorst said. “It’s time to put money back into road and bridge or we don’t have to worry about EMS going anywhere cause they can’t get there.”
The Ellis County Commission will discuss possible budget scenarios with department heads before making any further decisions. The commission is scheduled to meet again this Monday.