Cape County commissioners begin budget reviews, talk about tightening finanical belt

Money dominated Thursday’s Cape Girardeau County commission meeting.

The board has begun reviewing draft budgets for county offices, starting with the court system.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones set the tone as he reviewed the figures provided by the county auditor’s office. Auditor David Ludwig was at the meeting, along with deputy auditors Virgie Koeppel and Beth Biri.

"What we’re encouraging people to do is submit zero-based budgets. No increases," Jones said, noting with approval that Division 1 and 2 Circuit Court Clerk Charles Hutson’s budget of $98,000 was $3,000 lower than this year’s. "Right today our sales tax income is at 99 percent. We’re used to sales tax income of about 3.5 percent above the past year and we’re one percent under – a 4.5 difference."

Like many government agencies, the county must draw up a budget without knowing for certain what income will be, because receipts heavily depend on sales taxes. In a week with dire economic news dominating national coverage, Jones said, "We’re not going to be real excited about giving anyone increases." He also noted that, even with careful planning of court costs, "one good murder trial and a change of venue will cost the county $25,000."

Koeppel told the commissioners that fees for county services have been about the same as last year and have not risen over several years.

Among budgets for individual judges' offices, Judge Gary Kamp’s included an additional $2,600 for a criminal record search service that the commissioners approved earlier this year.

First District Commissioner Larry Bock suggested pursuing full funding of the new copier from the county’s law enforcement restitution fund (CLERF).

Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis asked for $24,400, the same amount as last year, but noted a savings of nearly $7,000 over the previous fiscal year – money Koeppel said Lewis plans to use to replace an old copier.

Judge Peter Statler has asked for $32,530, an increased of nearly $2,000, which will be used to cover the rising cost of lawyers designated to represent children and those adults unable to handle their own affairs.

The court reporters budget may drop by $40, to $12,060. The commissioners will review their own budget at 9:45 a.m. Monday. Reviews will continue through November, followed by public hearings before the final budget is adopted.

Though a great many questions were asked about 2009 income projections, a single figure, or a sense of how different next year’s financial picture will be from this year’s never emerged, in part because the county is awaiting receipt of some money.

"The concern is if our income doesn’t say the same, everybody should be concerned. Everybody’s going to have to cut back," Jones said.

Koeppel told commissioners this year’s budget work is ahead of last year’s because most officeholders have turned in their worksheets promptly. Those outstanding budgets are for offices, such as the assessor, which are waiting for other financial reports, typically delivered in October and November.