Tax loss leads to deep cuts in budget

More officials will appear at a series of meetings to promote the sales tax.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — The Columbiana County commissioners have chopped funding to avoid a $3.2 million debt this year.

Commissioner Chairman Sean Logan said Wednesday that office-holders were given a lump sum and told they can appropriate the money any way they want.

Total spending for 2006 was set at $16.4 million. County offices spent $19.6 million in 2005.

A few offices saw a very slight increase because of mandated spending.

The courts and allied offices saw their appropriations slashed by 6.4 percent while the offices of the auditor, treasurer and recorder saw their budgets cut by 11.8 percent.

Some small county offices, like the humane society, will receive no money.

The largest amount cut was $844,738, or 27 percent, for housing jail prisoners.

County officials say the problem is the lack of the 0.5 percent sales tax that brought in about $4 million a year. Voters in 2005 renewed the 1 percent sales tax but rejected renewal of the half percent tax.

On the ballot

The 0.5 percent sales tax will be on the May ballot. More officials, including county Auditor Nancy Milliken and Treasurer Linda Bolon, will join the commissioners at a series of town hall meetings to promote the tax.

Before the commissioners approved the spending measure, the county's budget commission met to increase the county's estimated investment income for the year. The commission includes Milliken, Bolon and county prosecutor Robert Herron.

The budget commission initially estimated the county would make $625,000 in interest this year. The commissioners asked the board to increase the amount to $925,000. That's just $25,000 less than the county's 2005 interest income.

Milliken warned the commissioners that if interest income drops, the budget commission would have to lower the estimate, which would lead to more funding cuts.

Milliken also warned that cuts in the auditor and treasurer's office could reduce the county's interest income and result in still more cuts.

Court officials

Logan said he had talked to court and related officials so they would not bring lawsuits to force the commissioners to give them extra funds.

"We're all in this together," Logan said.

Jim Hoppel said that a sign of good government is working within a limited budget.

"We've tried to be as frugal as we could in everything we could," he said. "In the last two years we've had the most cooperation we've ever had from department heads."

Commissioner Gary Williams said that county officials face a challenge in trying to live within their appropriations.

"Excess spending has been wrung out of everything," he said.

The county ended 2005 with a $1.8 million carryover to help deal with the loss of the 0.5 percent sales tax. County officials have said some people believe the county doesn't need the 0.5 percent sales tax. But without the carryover, the county could have faced up to a $5 million shortfall this year.

wilkinson@vindy.com