Budget hearings reveal tensions in government

It's that time of the year again, when the keepers of the public purse in county government must balance the demands of taxpayers against the demands of officeholders. No wonder commissioners in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties aren't in a jovial mood.
The commissioners are on the frontlines in the battle of the budget. Coming at them from one side is the "We're taxed off" segment of the population, demanding cuts in spending and, yes, a reduction in taxes. Coming at them from the other are the elected officials whose departments operate with money from the general fund and who invariably never have enough. There's no place to hide -- but there are things the commissioners can do to win over skeptical residents and ensure that officeholders are reasonable in their demands.
Zero-based budgeting has long been talked about, but never fully implemented. Rather than departmental budget requests being built upon the previous year's spending, each budget should start with zero. That way, department heads would have to justify every dollar requested.
And since employee costs account for a major portion of expenditures, making each payroll public would go a long way toward winning over the skeptics. There is a growing presumption that governments at all levels have too much deadwood and that a reduction in personnel is justified. Whether the presumption is based on fact can only be determined by a detailed analysis of each department's payroll.
Such an analysis is especially timely for Mahoning and Columbiana counties, which are fighting to avoid economic meltdowns.
Projected deficit
In Mahoning County, commissioners David Ludt, Anthony Traficanti and John V. McNally IV must deal with a projected $9 million general fund shortfall as they review the budget requests that are now being submitted. Budget hearings began last week and it was clear that while Ludt, Traficanti and McNally have warned of tough times ahead, some department heads aren't impressed.
We would simply caution officeholders who are contemplating suing the commissioners for whatever funding they deem reasonable that the voters of the county will not sit silently. A vote on a sales tax is always around the corner.
In Columbiana County, commissioners Jim Hoppel, Sean Logan and Gary Williams must come to terms with the defeat of a 0.5 percent sales tax last month and decide how to sell the issue to the voters by the May 2006 primary.
The commissioners and Auditor Nancy Milliken have begun public hearings to solicit opinions from the taxpayers.
In Trumbull County, the picture is a little brighter because revenue from two new quarter-percent sales taxes has begun to come in. But commissioners James Tsagaris, Daniel Polivka and Paul Heltzel know that county government cannot go on a spending spree and that taxpayers expect them to be good stewards of the public dollars.
In that regard, Heltzel's observation that there is no need to replace all the workers who were laid off during the budget crisis will strike a responsive chord with the taxpayers.
In the end, it is all about credibility. The commissioners in the tri-county area must know that total transparency and responsible spending are the keys to successful governance.