Cape County eyes preliminary 2020 operating budget

Cape Girardeau County’s estimated 2020 operating budget calls for expenditures of just over $13.7 million, almost $1.2 million more than this year’s estimated expenses.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 9 a.m. today at the County Commission meeting on the upper level of the county’s administrative office building in Jackson.

County Auditor Pete Frazier will present a set of worksheets at the hearing summarizing the county’s anticipated expenses for the coming year.

“It’s literally a Reader’s Digest version of the budget,” he said.

Frazier’s budget report will also include an approximate expenditure amount for the current fiscal year, which will end Dec. 31.

“I will not have the exact number until the end of the year,” he said. “We still have a payroll and have to finish up and some other expenditures we’re going to have to pay out through the end of the year, so right now we’re estimating what we’re going to bring in and pay out and what we’ll have left at the end of the year.”

As of now, he’s estimating the county’s 2019 operating expenses will be $12,511,405.72.

“We will have another budget that is required by statute to be completed by Jan. 10 and that will be the final budget,” he said.

According to Frazier’s 2020 budget summary, the county’s estimated “carry-over” balance at the end of 2019 will be $3,365,718. Revenue during the year will include approximately $7,350,000 in sales tax and an estimated $4,655,980 from “other sources” such as grants and reimbursements to the county.

“The sales tax estimate is unfortunately pretty consistent with the previous two years,” the county auditor said. “We’re estimating essentially little or no growth next year.”

Added together, revenue from sales tax and other sources will give the county an estimated income of just over $12 million. When added to the carry-over balance, Frazier estimated the county’s “gross amount” available for appropriation in 2020 will be $15,371,698.

Frazier said there are several reasons for increased county expenses in 2020, compared to 2019, including the fact its an election year, which will require funds to prepare for and conduct elections throughout the county. The county will also be maintaining additional square footage in 2020 such as the new justice center.

“We’ve also added another department in the new budget year,” Frazier said, and explained the merger of the Jackson and county dispatch centers will mean adding several employees to the county’s payroll who were previously employed by the City of Jackson.

“We’ll be receiving some reimbursement from the City of Jackson to pay for a portion of those employees,” Frazier said.

The budget also includes a cost-of-living salary adjustment for county employees.

One area where costs will not increase next year is the county’s insurance.

“We are self-insured and because of that we’ve been able to keep our rates down,” Frazier said.

By being self-insured, he said the county has been able to avoid rate increases he estimated would have been anywhere from 15% to 25% had county employees been covered by traditional health, dental and vision insurance.

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