Raises included in county budget

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
County employees will potentially see pay raises this year, according to Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock.
Hadlock told the News Letter Journal that raises are included in the $17,673,179.71 budget, which was approved by the Weston County Commissioners on July 16. The budget allows for raises  $1 to $1.50 in each department’s budget. Raises, however, will be distributed at the discretion of the department heads, Hadlock said. 
“There was enough put into the sheriff (Weston County Sheriff’s Department) and detention budget for each of their employees to get $1.50 per hour, except for Denise (McGinty) and Deb (Sweet), and they were given $1,” Hadlock said. “All of the other departments $1 (per hour for each employee) was put into their budget. The department heads then can choose how much per hour, up to either their $1.50 or $1 per hour.” 
Hadlock said that the inclusion of raises is the only major difference between the fiscal year 2019 and the fiscal 2020 budget.
“Details of general fund requirements show appropriations by county department,” Hadlock said in the budget notes. 
According to the budget document, the largest general fund requirements for fiscal 2020 are in the Road and Bridge Department line item—$1,350,630.88—and in the county road fund for road projects—$1,393,083.85. 
During the commissioners meeting on July 16, it was noted that $500,000 was added to the county road fund line item from the county road fund reserve account to allow Road and Bridge Supervisor Rick Williams the ability to address several county road and bridge issues, including hiring contractors to ease some of the workload from Williams and his crew. 
According to the budget, the county road fund reserve remains at $3,926,603.61 after allocations from the account were made. 
The sheriff’s office has a total budget of $553,500. Another $588,349 was budgeted by the county for the law enforcement complex. 
Also included in the budget is $3,550,170.20 for “other county accounts.” 
“The breakdown of other county accounts shows appropriations for other requirements, including costs for publications, personnel, engineers, software, major repairs, grants and grant matches,” according to the budget document. 
Included in the budget is $620,000 for insurance, $205,000 for Social Security, $300,000 for emergency relief, $424,000 for retirement, $280,000 for building and grounds major repairs and $275,000 for gravel/road material. 
The “other county accounts” line item totals $297,020.20 in 1% sales tax expense for organizations or entities that receive a share of the 1% sales tax. 
Included in the 1% revenue distribution are Mallo Camp ($35,160.20), courthouse security ($26,000), capital projects ($30,000), Upton Ambulance Service ($15,000), Weston County Children’s Center ($12,750), Weston County Search and Rescue ($4,000), Mallo Camp 4-H subsidy ($3,000) and Weston County Solid Waste District ($7,500). 
According to the budget, the county has $2,983,196.33 in cash reserve. Hadlock called the reserve the county’s “rainy day fund,” which is used for emergencies, disasters, or economic downturns and to ensure that funds are available to maintain county operations. 
“Depreciation reserve is funds available for major purchases, such as road graders and heavy equipment,” Hadlock said. This fund totals $951,979.11. 
The county’s road reserve is $3,926,603.01 and is used for approved county road projects only. Fuel reserves are used for maintenance of the Road and Bridge fuel tank system and totals $70,138.01. 
Total estimated revenue for fiscal 2020 is $5,563,088. The total available cash, including carryover funds, is $15,854,949.75. The total budget figure also includes a 12 mill tax levy in the amount of $1,818,229.96.