HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance October 26 19951
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Finance and Administrative Services Committee
1996 Budget Hearing
October 26, 1995
The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. by Committe Chair Alvin Starkenburg
in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue.
Also Present: Absent:
Marlene Dawson None
Ward Nelson
Others Present:
Ken Henderson (late)
Barbara Brenner (late)
Bob Imhof (late)
BUDGET REVIEW OF THE 1996 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET FOR
THE FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS: ASSESSOR, TREASURER,
EXECUTIVE, AND AUDITOR
Starkenburg gave an introductory statement and outlined the format of the
meeting.
Keith Willnauer, Assessor, outlined the goals for the Assessor's Office for 1996,
which are to endeavor, without the addition of expensive staff, to move operational
timeframe toward its statutorily- defined position, which means getting back on track of
cyclical duties. In 1995, his department's cyclical timeline moved six to seven weeks
backwards; this is good news and gives more time at the end of the year. He requested
additional personal computer hardware and software for support of mainframe
operations, which would provide a much higher level of efficiency. Mainframe program
modifications are essential in speeding information retrieval and data usage. The salary
step increases necessitated absorption of $14,000 of salary modifications. The overall
increase is 4.3% of the budget. His office does not expect any negative impacts to public
service. Information from his office is to be expanded privately through Metro Scan and
other private sources.
Budget Hearing, 10/26/95, Page 1
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A question and answer period followed. Topics discussed included: yearly re-
evaluation of personal property; annual re- evaluation system; number of automobiles
available for the appraisers; appraisal procedure for new construction; ability and
workload of the appraisers; volume of each appraiser's work load; denial by the state of
the assessment roles; fleet costs; and services provided by the Assessor's Office to the
Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee.
Starkenburg closed the Assessor's portion of the presentation.
Barbara Cory, Treasurer, expressed appreciation for two Treasurer employees'
help in preparing the budget. Goals for 1995 included, among others, negotiation for an
ATM machine in the Courthouse; development of a line of credit agreement with the
bank for meeting the cash needs of the Current Expense Fund; development of policies
and procedures for remote payment of bills. She noted that all her department's
financial reports have been completed on time. Cash handling training classes for staff
have taken place. One of the main goals for 1996 is to insure proper sales tax coding.
The majority of improper tax coding is in motor vehicle licensing. Cory was asked to
reduce her budget by 10 %, which amounts to $86,913, which equates to a 15% staff
reduction. Her office will be subcontracting tax payment processing, which allows for a
cost savings. Twenty -five percent of the treasurer's salary was moved to the investment
cost center. Cory discussed some of the alternatives she considered and rejected in
making the budget cuts. Two particular concerns she had were: The Treasurer's Office
will be burdened more because the Assessor's staff was not reduced, yet her office had
staff reductions, creating a heavier workload for her staff; and the reduction of the
revenue deputy. Reducing the efficiency of the Treasurer's Office has the effect of
reducing county revenue.
A question and answer period followed. Topics discussed included: charging
other entities for services rendered; staffing levels; use of temporary employees;
reduction in the collection of personal property tax revenue; an audit system to improve
revenue returns; proper tax coding; auditing gambling tax; revenue projections regarding
licensing fees; and federal forestry line item payment to the county.
(Clerk's note. A seven- minute break was taken at 11:05 am.)
Tom Sutberry, Administrative Services, stated that the Executive did not wish to
make a presentation regarding the budget. There were questions regarding the salary
schedule changes of $30,000 and increases in benefits on page 7 of the proposed budget.
Sutberry clarified the line item pertaining to salary sick leave and vacation payouts of
retirement and employees leaving.
Budget Hearing, 10/26/95, Page 2
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Starkenburg closed the portion of the presentation pertaining to the Executive's
budget.
(Clerk's Note: A two- minute break was taken at 11:20 a.m.)
Shirley Forslof, Auditor, stated that the 1995 goals have been met. The new
election management system automatically establishes precincts as opposed to doing it
manually. Her department is now in the process of sending out requests for proposal
(RFP) for an imaging indexing scanning system retrieval. The cuts made by the
Auditor's Office included contracting out for certain services, and creating a public
services department which would combine licensing and recording departments.
A question and answer period followed. Topics discussed included: cost of
mailouts for voter registration cards; internal auditing goals and objectives for 1996;
statutory involvement of the Auditor's Office in reviewing business licensing; impacts of
budget cuts, including the timeline of recording of documents, longer lines, and lower
staffing levels; ensuring service levels are going to be maintained while eliminating a
supervisory position; and seniority levels of her employees regarding vacation time
earned.
Forslof gave a brief presentation on funding election services. Elections are
governed by federal law, so they must be funded. As many aspects as possible of the
elections are being contracted out. Next year is going to be a big election year, including
school and presidential elections. More and more registrations are coming in through
motor voter registration. Census activities have already begun, including updating maps
for state census uses. Voter pamphlets have not been created for this year.
A question and answer period followed. Those topics discussed included: how
Forslof arrived at funding figures; alternative funding methods; and the knowledge and
experience of the staff.
Terry Hintz, Auditor's Office, briefly discussed what the Auditor bills out to
various jurisdictions, which is controlled by state law.
Other topics discussed were: vote -by -mail, which may be more reasonable and
logistically effective; costs of vote -by -mail; trial election using the vote -by -mail method at
the primary election in 1996; and estimate of reduction of cost using the vote -by -mail.
Budget Hearing, 10/26/95, Page 3
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ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 12:02 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Recording Secretary
ATTEST:
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Alvin Starkenburg, Council ber
Budget Hearing, 10/26/95, Page 4