June 10, 2001

Marion County’s fiscal year 2001-02  budget has been all about change.   Necessary change.  While change is good, it can be difficult for many people.

Perhaps the most readily apparent change is in the budget document itself.  The format is easier to read, easier to use and easier to compare to budgets of previous years.  National accounting standards dictate we make these changes. 

Voter approved initiatives, Measure 5, 47 and 50, have forced governments to change their spending habits.  Governments at all levels, including special districts and urban renewal districts,  fight among themselves for limited funds.  Government must learn to live within funding limits the voters have demanded.

Rising costs for personnel continue to take a bigger bite out of  the budget.  Health insurance premiums, PERS (employee retirement benefits) costs, and demands to hire professional staff to meet the challenges of a changing world, require more innovative ways to compensate staff as well as restructuring of county government.

Technological changes force us to change how we meet the demands of doing business and serving the public.  Our relationship with the Data Center (which provides computer support services to the county and the city of Salem) must change.  We can no longer afford to be held hostage to “long term relationships” that compelled us to subsidize the city’s computer expenses for many years.  We can no longer “fly by the seat of our pants” as we struggle to implement new technologies internally.  We cannot ignore any longer the necessity to provide customer service via the internet.

Societal challenges require changes in how we respond to providing community safety when drug, alcohol, and mental health issues compound law enforcement’s ability to keep our neighborhoods safe.

Marion County kept the wolf away from the door – by luck, by pulling rabbits out of hats – for an amazingly long time!  But, luck runs out, rabbits disappear – and reality has set in with this 2001-02 budget.

Over the past several years Marion County has relied on reserve funds being available to dip into in order to balance the budget.  Contingency funds and carryover funds were used to bridge the gap through the end of fiscal years.  However, the new fiscal year budget reveals that reserves are gone (except those necessary to meet legal responsibilities) and carryover funds are all but non existent.  Marion County is down to a scant $750,000 in a contingency fund should there be an emergency to respond to!   This is .003% of the overall $250 million budget.   If you make $25,000 yearly, .003% would be $75.  Beyond your budgeted annual living expenses: housing, utilities and  food, $75 would be all you’d have left should your car break down or should you have a medical or other emergency.

Marion County is in such a fragile fiscal position, we are unable to utilize financial opportunities that might otherwise be available.  However, limited dollars eliminate padded budgets, and we are forced to reveal exactly what it costs to run county government.   Additionally, much closer scrutiny has been given to how county business is conducted than has been done in years.  All revenues have been identified and examined much more closely.  Research has been done on all available funds (reserves, contingencies, etc.) to ensure lawful and appropriate expenditure of those funds.

The three years I’ve been a county commissioner, the Board of Commissioners and the budget committee have been warned repeatedly by previous administrators and budget officers that this crisis was imminent.  I heeded the warning.  I saw the red flags.  I voted “No” on these fiscally irresponsible budgets.  Unfortunately, my fellow budget committee members and fellow commissioners out voted me and approved these previous budgets.  And, last week in the budget committee meeting, again, I voted “No” because I could not support the spending decisions that the budget committee made.  Again, I was out voted and the budget was approved.    Perhaps the budget committee, which is comprised of three citizen members as well as the three commissioners, did not believe what they were being told.  Perhaps, somehow, they believed more money would come from the state or the federal governments. 

Nonetheless, three years ago, budget projections were telling the story we are living today, and it is unlikely there will be more money from the state or federal government.

In my next column I’ll discuss ideas and solutions for the future.