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Commissioner Short
opened the hearing and began with a PowerPoint Presentation on
Sales Tax:
He explained the
role sales tax play in the County Budget:
The State
Tax Rate is 5.5%
He presented a chart
illustrating the decline in sales tax since 2005:
A list of just a few
of the items that are not subject to sales tax:
Commissioner Genter
presented the following:
He stated that out
of $10 Million collected in Property Tax, only $2 Million comes
to the County, with $.5 Million of that $2 Million going to the
Veteran’s Administration.
The Local Government
Funds received are comprised of the State’s formula. He
explained that the County is an arm of the State and the County
is charged with the responsibility of carrying out the laws
imposed by the State.
Commissioner Short
added that the figure listed on this chart was actually prepared
a week ago and that after speaking with the Prosecuting
Attorney, who sits on the budget commission, was told that the
figure would be closer to $935K instead of $1M.
Commissioner Genter
stated that each elected official charges for various services
provided by their office such as court fines and costs,
conveyance fees, recording fees, sheriff’s service fees, etc.
These fees have also been declining since 2006.
The law allows for
the investment of unused funds. The interest received from said
funds go into the General fund. There has been a serious
decline in interest income since 2007.
Commissioner Genter
turned to the County Administrator, Vond Hall, to explain fund
accounting.
Mr. Hall explained
how money is collected and where it goes. There must be a
separate record of each operating fund. There are 228 different
funds. The County General Fund is fund issue at hand. The
County General Fund is responsible for funding the daily
operation of the County for general repairs, upkeep and wages.
The other 227 funds are funded by levies or have money collected
for a specific purpose and have specific limitation on what that
money can be used for.
Commissioner Genter
then explained what the General Fund does:
Commissioner Barnaby
presented the following:
Mr. Hall noted that
this is general fund employees only. There are actually a total
of 317 county employees total.
Commissioner Barnaby
explained that revenues are very slow until April when the taxes
are disbursed. He further stated that it is not as expenses
have gone through the roof, it’s just that revenues have dropped
through the floor. Without more revenue and less expense, the
cash balance in the General fund will drop to zero in a matter
of a few years.
At 9:43:29 a.m.
Commissioner Short opened the floor for comment from the public.
A gentlemen in
attendance stated that he believes that the government payroll
and benefits that are breaking us. Commissioner Short stated
that there have been reductions in the general fund as far as
wages and personnel since 2006 as illustrated earlier.
Commissioner Genter further explained that over 8 years ago when
he took office, health insurance was paid 100%, today there are
HSA accounts put in place and $5,400 deductibles. Cuts have
been continuous.
Another gentlemen
asked if raising the sales tax would be funding more programs
that would need to be continuously funded or if this was to take
care of the here and now. Commissioner Short explained that
this option is being looked at to fix declining revenues so the
county can operate at the same level, not to fund additional
programs.
Commissioner Genter
stated that there are services that are being mandated at the
Federal and State levels that are unfunded by both, but the
County still has an obligation to carry them out. There are
also many fees that are being collected by the County but go to
the State, such as tipping fees for waste disposal.
A gentlemen stated
that the general public would have no way of knowing things like
that. He stated that when he comes in and gives the county
money for services, he expects that it stays in the county.
Mary Gype, Clerk of
Courts stated that she too collects 10 accounts that go directly
to the State.
Don Kreiger,
Director of Solid Waste and Recycling for the County, stated
that he hopes the tax goes through. He said the Commissioners
have done a good job to keep things solvent and viable. He
explained that his department is one that has been cut 100% by
the State, however the services he provides are still mandated.
He’s not happy with the way things are either, but something has
to be done.
Commissioner Short
explained that raising sales tax is not something that anyone
wants to do. He stated that the crunch started 10-15 years ago,
not something that has just come up over the last 6 months. It
has been a continuous effort. There have just been drastic cuts
from the federal and state levels for services that the county
is still mandated to provide and it may be necessary in order to
keep county government viable and in order to continue
services. A gentlemen in attendance stated that this is
actually very minimal compared to other things that are going on
in the country.
Al Kruz, previous
Fulton County Commissioner, stated that he was here in 1987 when
the previous increase was imposed. He stated that he commends
the Commissioners because it has been 22 years since a sales tax
increase. That in itself is an awesome achievement and the
Commissioners should be praised for that.
Dave Pugh from the
Archbold Buckeye stated that the Commissioners are like that of
CEO’s of the County. CEO pay has received a lot of attention
lately. He asked how the Commissioners salary is funded and how
it is determined. Commissioner Genter stated the state sets the
salary for each elected official and it is determined by
population. Commissioner Genter stated that elected officials
have a 4 year wage freeze. Commissioner Short stated that state
legislators set their wages and they do not vote on their own
wage increases. Commissioner Genter further stated that elected
officials often use their own vehicles for travel and pay their
own fuel, travel and meals.
Commissioner Short
thanked everyone for attending and stated that there will be
another hearing next week on the 20th. |
