County departments discuss 2017 budget plan

Whitman County Commissioners and department representatives met with County Administrator Gary Petrovich last Thursday to discuss ways to approach the 2017 budget plan. Representatives from the assessor's, treasurer's and auditor's offices were present.

The current budget projection has the county sitting with a deficit of $143,000 which needs to be resolved before the budget can be approved.

Petrovich suggested to those present a way to solve the issue is by better controlling internal efficiencies.

“We're running deficits each and every year and sustaining that with cash,” he said. “We don't want to have to keep doing that. One way to address this is with internal efficiencies.”

Petrovich said the county could be able to come up with a plan that is sustainable rather than a one-time fix.

“The board has to think about the fiscal responsibility and the overall health of the county,” he said.

Petrovich asked those present how technology could fit into adding internal efficiencies.

“Do you see the use of technology being beneficial to us to reduce our internal costs?” he asked.

Treasurer Mark Clinton said his department has plans to look into how other counties utilize technology in their operations.

“We'll be going to some outside agencies in November to look at their systems,” he said.

The technology discussion did not last long before turning to collaboration amongst various departments.

“Is there any way in which you can foresee being able to be helped by other personnel and other staff and other departments in the county?” Petrovich asked. “If you have the use of other staff that could come over from other departments if they have some slack time, could that be considered as part of a resource?”

Clinton said his department has been working on changing things to be more efficient, and Robin Jones of the assessor's office said that department could use help with physical inspections. Sharron Cunningham, representing the auditor's office as finance administrator, said she sees things that need to be a team effort, but is not sure if it would ultimately lead to cost savings.

“Cost saving, probably not. Efficiency, yes,” she said.

Cunningham added that one thing that needs to be eliminated is duplication between departments.

“We've found that we're duplicating processes that we don't need to,” she said.

Petrovich suggested that bringing technology up to date could help to eliminate the duplication or triplication of processes. He also suggested outsourcing some duties to save on costs.

“We need to be doing things correctly before we would outsource,” said Cunningham. “We can eliminate overtime if we outsource our mailing.”

Petrovich said the discussion offered a chance to collaborate on ideas.

“We're just here to explore the possibilities,” he said. “Because the commissioners don't like making decisions in a vacuum. They want to solicit your opinion.”

He then asked how employees would feel about more collaboration amongst departments.

“Would employees find it motivational to be cross-trained?” he asked. “Would it increase morale?”

Jones said it would improve communication.

“We reduce redundancy in our office quite a bit by just talking,” she said.

Commissioner Michael Largent said it is important to focus on addressing the efficiencies first before talking about cutting.

“We need to achieve all the efficiencies we can before we start cutting services to the public. Wouldn't it be nice to reduce overhead costs in an efficient manner without cutting services?” he asked. “I will tell you the conversation is how do we re-design our overhead costs in such a way that we can deliver them more achievably and therefore have more capacity to handle the services we're obligated to provide.”

Commissioner Largent said another important thing to remember is that so much of the budget comes from state-mandated programs.

“The whole conversation is centered on how we achieve a sustainable budget over time. Clearly, we cannot depend on the state legislature in the near term or even in the intermediate term to adequately fund the obligations that we are constitutionally and statutorily obligated to do, and therefore if we're going to reach a sustainable budget we have to get at least a start with making sure our overhead is at the level we can justify,” he said.

Petrovich said it is important to continue conversations.

“These kinds of dialogues are very, very important for formulating and developing a strategy and a plan for approaching not only the 2017 budget but future budgets because this sets the course for how Whitman County will operate in the future,” he said. “Having that input for the board is so critical in understanding what priorities of government are and how we can create those efficiencies to achieve those outcomes that are required.”

Commissioner Largent expressed that he wants to see more collaborative discussions.

“I wonder if we can look at this meeting as less of a one-time thing and more as the beginning of an ongoing conversation,” he said. “I think ideas will start to flow. It's informal, it isn't confrontational. It helps us put the pieces together so that we can present a budget that's sustainable over time to the people we're responsible to.”

Petrovich also expressed the need for public input on the budgeting process.

“It'd sure be nice to have more input from the public,” he said. “We're just not seeing a lot of that when we hold budget hearings.”

He said it is critical to have public input.

“You're representing the taxpayers of Whitman County, so it'd be very important to know what they consider to be the priorities of what services the county delivers,” he said. “Knowing that is an important step in formulating your short-term and long-term budget strategies. You can react accordingly, and it creates a more open, transparent governmental process.”