HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance October 23 1989WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
October 23, 1989
Dan Warner called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. Council
members Marvin Vanderpol and Emily Jackson, Executive Shirley Van
Zanten, and Budget Director Tom Sutberry were present. In the
audience were Marge Laidlaw and Calum Bratt (of the Lynden
Tribune).
Tom Sutberry opened the discussion with a review of current
expense revenues. He began with a detailed explanation of each
item on the outline. Almost all revenues were beyond projected
highs for the year. Warner asked if "categories" of the budget
could be addressed rather than the sequence of items, and Sutberry
agreed. Inter - departmental revenues were reviewed. Warner asked
whether there was anything remarkable to look at. Sutberry replied
that he would like to point out the reduction in jail room and
board fees. The projection was 248,000 dollars and only 212,000
dollars were recieved. This was due primarily to losing the INS
federal contract.
Warner asked what computer services the county offered for
which it was recieving revenues. Sutberry explained that many
departments sold computer printouts of various information. He
also wanted to point out the item 349.15 was inappropriately called
"legal services" and should actually be called "administrative
service allocation ". Van Zanten explained that departments are
being charged, after a deduction of the amount that comes from
current expense accounts, for pro -rated administration costs.
Warner asked whether Van Zanten was satisfied with the set -up of
accounts, particularly the arrangement with Public Works. Van
Zanten replied that she hoped eventually that all financial
accounting could be consolidated into one branch of administration.
Revenues from traffic infractions were discussed. Some were
up; and some were down, notably DWI's.
Revenues from the County's investments were reviewed. There
was an exceptionlly good return on investments this year. Sutberry
remarked that one couldn't assume this rate of return would
continue, and that he had stuck with conservative projections.
Proceeds from the sale of timber was also very high; ap-
proximately twice the projected amount. Van Zanten and Sutberry
agreed that this also could not be counted upon as the prices of
stumpage fluctuates wildly.
Next Van Zanten outlined the generalities of the budget. She
said most allocations and increases were accounted for by
priorities set upon five goals: to create balance in the justice
departments, to increase staff where the most pressure has been
created due to the demands of a growing population, to provide for
environmental concerns, and to allocate resources for substance
abuse. She explained which costs were fixed, which had gone up,
and which were unpredictable. Health insurance displayed the most
dramatic increase, rising from 252 dollars per month out of each
salary to 280 dollars per month. Jackson asked whether that figure
included what is set aside for the wellness program. Van Zanten
said it did. Said that Nor -Bell is now out of the picture except
for some debts contracted while the county still owned it.
Salary increases were then discussed. Some salary increases
are built into contracts; a 4 percent increase was agreed upon for
non -union personnel; other positions were adjusted according to an
average of comparable positions in other counties. Van Zanten said
that a resolution existed putting a ceiling on council members'
salaries at either 8,800 dollars or 15 percent of the executive's
salary. Warner and Van Zanten agreed that the resolution should be
amended and pegged strictly to the executive's salary, with a
five -year review built into it.
Jackson asked whether it wouldn't be easier to round off
salaries to eliminate minor arbitrary differences between essen-
tially equal positions. VanZanten said that if salaries were
adjusted at all, the formula itself should be questioned; adj-
ustments simply opened a can of worms.
VanZanten explained that most of the large changes in the
budget could be traced to combining of positions, such as the
merging of the Board of Equalization position with a half -time
position in the Council offices, the moving of expenses from one
department to another, such as all computer expenses to the new
Information Center, and from net increases in staff. She said if
she can get an okay on it, Emergency Services may be rolled into
the County budget as a Sheriff's department division.
As part of the non - departmental budget, VanZanten explained
that Tort had been given an injection of 325,000 dollars, making
a total of approxiamtely 560,000 dollars in that account before
departmental contributions. It was intended as a one -time
contribution, essentially a two -year premium payment to create a
reserve. She hoped, she said, to bring it to and maintain it at
one million dollars. It accrues interest to itself.
VanZanten said that any expense over 5,000 dollars goes
through the Machinery and Equipment account, and that she had also
added reserves here, simply because the money was available. Money
had also been socked away for the Juvenile Detention facility.
Warner asked whether the expenditure authority for these projects
was not expired. Sutberry replied that it had been three months
now; there was no capability now.
The Purchasing budget was examined. Sutberry said that new
staff and recieving policies were going to help streamline
procedures there.
VanZanten said that unappropriated funds set aside for
"contingencies --in the Roads budget now totaled 500,000 dollars.
She says she hopes to build it to a million dollars.
Warner had to excuse himself to attend another engagement at
4:00. Emily Jackson also left.
Vanderpol asked whether VanZanten felt satisfied with
personnel additions to the various departments, and how they had
responded to the allocations. VanZanten replied that she thought
most departments understood budget restrictions and had made
reasonable requests. She said a few people in the Sheriff, Auditor
and Assessor departments may be upset. In some cases, other
factors than the budget, such as space to put new personnel, had
influenced her decisions about staff.
The meeting adjourned at about 4:10 pm.
ATTEST:
4ULI/iL ----------
LORRAINE BONIFACI, CLERK II DAN WARNER, COUNCIL MEMBER