Saturday, December 15, 2001
The sheriff had wanted to hire five employees and replace four aging cruisers next year.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith had hoped to see his department grow in 2002.
But after a recent meeting with commissioners on next year's budget, he's worried that his force will shrink and have to struggle to provide services.
Smith said he's hopeful he won't be forced to lay off next year after learning recently from commissioners that his 2002 budget allocation is likely to be about $1.6 million. That's nearly $200,000 to $300,000 less than he asked for.
What this means: Commissioners say they have little choice but to slash money requests as they formulate a 2002 general fund budget.
Departmental requests and other obligations for 2002 total about $16.7 million. That's about $4 million more than the county expects to receive in 2002.
Partly to blame for the $4 million shortfall are rising operating expenses, such as the cost of housing prisoners, and a depressed economy.
The struggling economy may cause interest from county investments to sag, too. Commissioners also are fearful that it will curtail spending, prompting sales tax revenue to plummet.
Tax giveback: Another problem is that commissioners agreed to surrender about $2.5 million annually in property tax revenue to persuade voters to adopt the 1 percent sales tax in November 2000.
The giveback offsets earnings from the sales tax, which brings in about $6 million before the giveback is factored in.
Commissioners have scheduled public hearings for later this month to discuss a proposed sales tax increase of 0.5 percent, which would bring in about $3 million annually.
Smith said he had hoped next year to replace three personnel who left in 2000, two through retirements and one who was laid off.
He also wanted to sign on two additional deputies, making five new hires next year. Each new deputy costs the county about $35,000 to $40,000 annually in salary and benefits.
Hiring is necessary because the department is "drastically shorthanded," which drives up overtime costs, Smith said. Right now the department employs 28 people.
Smith said he also wanted next year to replace four cruisers, each of which has logged more than 250,000 miles, making them safety risks and maintenance problems. A new cruiser costs about $23,000.