County may add to budget
By COBY LaRUE
Staff
The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners met on Monday night and proposed possible revisions to the county budget plan.
The commissioners voiced support for a budget that would not eliminate as many positions, raise taxes or drop longevity pay for employees. In order to balance that budget plan, the commissioners would be required to use fund balance appropriations to pay for the county's ongoing expenses.
A fund-balance range of 15 to 17 percent was anticipated by commissioners, which would continue to meet requirements for county's the size of Alleghany for budget reserves. However, that would mean that the Commission is spending about $840,000 in reserve funds to balance this year's budget.
County Manager Don Adams had proposed a budget that would cut positions, lower the budgets of some county-supported, but not controlled, institutions by 35 percent and institute furloughs for county employees.
However, the commissioners on Monday appeared poised to reinstate most of the cuts in their budget proposal. The commissioners held budget meetings last week to discuss matters with department heads and Chair Ken Richardson had at the time asked each commissioner to come back with his or her own budget proposal based on the proposed budget submitted by the county manager. The discussions are still developing amongst the board and more budget revisions appear likely up until the time the final document is approved June 30.
Richardson said the process would "give each commissioner the opportunity to say how they see the budget."
|
