Tablack works to start capital budgeting

The new budget chief wants to move away from crisis management.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Maintaining comfortable temperatures in the Mahoning County Jail is part of making the jail constitutionally sound, which makes properly running air-conditioning units a priority.
County officials know they will need to replace two large units soon at an approximate cost of $550,000 to $600,000. The units aren't functioning properly, in part because the county didn't pay for an ongoing maintenance program.
If either unit were to break down during the summer, when their usage peaks along with air-conditioner unit service calls, the replacement cost could be even higher.
George J. Tablack, director of the county Office of Management & amp; Budget, says county government should be proactive, not reactive.
As department heads have presented their 2006 budget requests to Mahoning County commissioners, Tablack has been asking them to list and rank their material needs. It's one step toward establishing a capital budgeting process so that county officials can make long-range plans to replace or repair buildings, machinery and other big-ticket items before they fall apart. That would break the cycle of what Tablack calls crisis management.
"It's the way we should be doing business in the county. It's smarter money management," Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said.
Not a new idea
Capital budgeting isn't a new idea. James Fortunato says that was standard during the 15 years he worked for Humility of Mary Health Partners, before he became the county's purchasing director.
Capital budgeting would improve management of the county's vehicle fleet, for example, Fortunato said. An aging schedule would be compiled, and the county could buy vehicles at once instead of piecemeal.
That also would maximize the benefits of state bidding, since better prices could be negotiated for larger purchases, he said.
Capital expenditures also should be timed with the county's paying off other debts, Tablack said.
There's a domino effect to planning, or a lack of it. Several air-conditioning units in the county courthouse are now 17 years old, exceeding their life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. Newer equipment is more energy-efficient, so the replacement expense may be offset by utility savings.
"Sooner or later, they will recover [cost] for you," said Pete Triveri, head of the county's facilities department.
On the other hand, if the air conditioners fail on a hot summer day, juries and courthouse workers may have to be sent home, which affects productivity, Fortunato said.
Crumbling buildings create indirect costs: health hazards, higher insurance and increases in workers' compensation rates, Tablack said.
Predicts millions in savings
It's too soon to quantify how much the county may save through capital budgeting, but Tablack believes it will be millions of dollars over time.
The county's budgeting is "still reactionary driven. That's just no way to run a $150 million business," Tablack said. Only the county sanitary engineering department does capital budgeting, because bondholders of various projects require it, he noted.
Asked why capital budgeting didn't catch on in Mahoning County before now, Fortunato said it's been difficult to follow through with the on-again, off-again sales tax issues.
"Meager efforts were made in the past," Tablack said of capital budgeting. Efforts fell short, which created apathy among department heads.
"Nobody pushed it," Commissioner David Ludt said. "There has to be a driving force."
Support for approach
Commissioner John McNally IV said Tablack talked to commissioners about capital budgeting last spring, before he resigned as Mahoning County auditor to become chief financial officer for Palm Beach County, Fla. Tablack was hired as Mahoning County's budget director effective Dec. 5.
McNally supports the idea of capital budgeting: "It's not a big stretch to begin thinking this way," he said.
As for beginning the process now, "You've got to implement sometime, right?" McNally said. "This is the time to start thinking differently," now that collections are under way for a second 0.5 percent county sales tax that voters approved last May.
Budget hearings for 2006 resume today. Tablack will continue to tabulate a list of department needs and ask department heads whether those are essential, necessary or desirable to their operations. There's a chance that nearly everything will be deemed essential, so the commissioners and budget office will have to make some decisions.
"We have to be the gatekeepers for that," Traficanti said.
shaulis@vindy.com