The panel made no changes to the $52.4 million document, which next goes to the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners for a public hearing June 9 and adoption on June 23.
The budget committee is made up of the five county commissioners and five citizen members Joe Bakkensen, Russ Farmer, Mike Hinton, Cary Johnson and Dan Bartlett. Bartlett was unable to attend Monday’s meeting.
The budget maintains virtually all existing county programs and services. The combined budget totals $52,461,700 a 6.2 percent decrease from the 2009-10 budget, reflecting a number of factors, including the completion of several grant-funded projects in the current fiscal year, and a reduction in transfers between funds. The General Fund, which covers basic county functions such as public safety and planning, is slated to increase 1.3 percent from 2009-10, to $17,426,800.
County Manager Duane Cole, who delivered the budget message to the committee, noted that timber revenue forecasts for the Clatsop State Forest for the upcoming year have improved since the proposed budget was drafted. That may allow the county, which had projected $1.6 million in timber dollars in the 2010-11, to proceed with some projects that originally had been postponed, including a patrol car purchase and computer upgrades, he said.
The budget boosts General Fund support to the Public Health Department by $60,000 to fund a Clinic Manager position. This requires an exception from the county budget policies that discourage “back-filling” cuts in state and federal funding, but the administration felt the position was vital for the department, Cole told the committee.
On the other side of the ledger, the budget saves more than $100,000 by bringing the Central Services and Assessment and Taxation offices under one director, Cole noted.
Only one county position is set to be cut. A deputy post in the Sheriff’s Office funded by the Oregon Department of Forestry will be eliminated because of the drop in revenue from the state forests.
Sheriff Tom Bergin told the committee he has approached large private timber owners in the county about helping maintain the position, which is focused on law enforcement in forested areas.
The entire proposed 2010-11 Clatsop County Budget document is available online at www.co.clatsop.or.us. Copies will also be available for view at the Astoria, Seaside, Warrenton and Cannon Beach city libraries.
Copies of the document may also be purchased: $40 for bound copies, $18 for unbound and $10 for copies on disk. For more information contact the Clatsop County Manager’s Office at (503) 325-1000.
The budget committees of the following special districts ? Rural Law Enforcement District, Road District #1, Westport Sewer System District and 4-H and Extension Service Special District ? will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 4 at the Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria to review and approve the districts’ proposed 2010-11 budgets.
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