CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY REMAINS IN GOOD FISCAL HEALTH

Cape Girardeau County has a well-deserved reputation for fiscal responsibility. Over the years, the county government here has avoided the shortfalls of many similar bodies around the state whose budgetary affairs stand in disarray. Credit for this is in part due to a growing and prosperous county. Don't overlook, however, the role played in financial management by a vigilant group of county commissioners and other county officials.

Remarkably, faced with the same problems of other counties in dealing with rising costs of fixed items like insurance and workers compensation, not to mention unfunded mandates that come from Jefferson City and Washington, the commissioners have come through recent times essentially unscathed. In approving its budget for 1994 this week, the commission expounded on its philosophy of fiscal prudence while sounding a cautionary note about expenditures beyond local control that might impact the county treasury in the year ahead.

With regard to understanding accountability as exhibited in the county budget, the actual numbers are most instructive. In the last year, county revenue increased 6.32 percent; for 1994, the county budgeted for 6 percent revenue growth, this conservative approach despite many forecasts that cite the coming year as being more economically stimulated than the past one. The county's general operations budget for 1994 is $6.09 million, representing a 5.84 increase over the last year's budget; again, the emphasis is on conservative projections.

Finally, the commissioners found it troubling that the county last year spent nearly 88 percent of its budget during 1993, as opposed to the 80 percent or so that is the Cape Girardeau County custom. It is little wonder that while many counties survive in relative hand-to-mouth style, Cape Girardeau County has a capital trust account (used for emergencies and major expenditures) with a balance of almost $3.8 million.

Despite this tightfisted manner, the county does not qualify for the adjective "stingy." Programs the county funds (health department, road and bridge service, emergency operations, and so on) are routinely first rate without being extravagant. Buildings are well-maintained and functional. When the time comes to spend money for upgrades (a $250,000 improvement is due this year on the county's mainframe computer), the commissioners feel secure in making the expenditure.

What has happened over the years, through teamwork, thorough planning and a steady hand at the wheel, is that county officials have established a mindset of "waste not, want not," a disposition we wish all governmental entities would aspire to. We commend commissioners Gene Huckstep, E.C. Younghouse and Larry Bock, as well as Auditor H. Weldon Macke, County Clerk Rodney Miller and other county officeholders, for creating and sustaining a climate of fiscal responsibility. Despite the impact state and federal mandates will have on local governments (including Cape Girardeau County), the recent budget discussions by the commissioners leave us confident of the county's continuing fiscal health.