At the joint Kosciusko County Council/Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting, held Thursday night, it was reported that the disbursements of the county’s operating funds have exceeded annual receipts.

Earlier today, we reported that enactment of a wheel tax will most likely be voted on at the Kosciusko County Council’s Thursday, June 12, meeting. The new tax would generate a new source of revenue for the county’s highway department, but the county as a whole is suffering from budget deficits.

According to a report compiled by Umbaugh, a financial advisory firm based out of Indianapolis, and county officials, cash reserves in Kosciusko County’s key operating funds could drop below recommended minimums (15 percent of operating disbursements) by 2016.

In addition to the wheel tax, Umbaugh had four other recommendations that could help get the operating funds back to an optimal level, approximately 50 percent of operating disbursements.

First, at the County Council’s May meeting, council member Doug Heinisch requested all department heads look at their budgets and see what they would look like with a 20 percent cut. At the joint meeting, the department heads were in attendance to share their findings.

The sentiment was essentially unanimous among all departments. They simply could not stand to make any more cuts and still provide the level of service that the people of Kosciusko County deserve.

Judge Duane Huffer spoke on behalf of the courts saying that Kosciusko County’s four courts are doing the work of 5 1/2 judges. The only way this is possible is with the diligent work of the staff in the clerk’s office.

“We are concerned about the budget,” said Huffer. “We are good stewards of the taxpayers, yet we’re getting the impression this in not appreciated.”

Sheriff Rocky Goshert presented his budgetary findings saying, “Thinking about a 20 percent cut, I don’t have it. And if I cut it, instead of saving, we’re really costing the county.”

“We’re down one and a half people in our office,” said Kosciusko County Auditor Marsha McSherry. “If we had to cut 20 percent, that would mean two full-time people and one part-time. We wouldn’t get the tax bills to [Kosciusko County Treasurer Sue Ann Mitchell] on time.”

“I don’t have enough as it is,” added Mitchell. “Since 1976, I have seen budgets cut and cut and cut. Twenty percent would not make people in this county happy.”

Councilman Brad Tandy noted, “I don’t think this exercise gets us anywhere. We just can’t get our services by.”

“When we’re talking about raising taxes, I think its important to let the public know, we’re making up for the state,” noted council member Jon Fussle. “They’re short-changing the county at every turn, so we’re left with the dirty duty of making up cost.”

“All of us have got to accept the fact that we’ve been frugal, it’s time to find new revenue,” county commissioner Ron Truex said. “What saves you when times get tough is a cash reserve.”

Rather than cut anymore from the county departments’ budgets, Kosciusko County’s elected officials will consider, and possibly enact, recommendations from Umbaugh. The following recommendations are taken directly from Umbaugh’s official report:

1. Consider eliminating the Cumulative Jail Fund and shifting the purchase of police vehicles to Cumulative Capital Development. The current CJF levy of $129,300 could be shifted to the County General Fund. The CGF may also receive additional Motor Vehicle Excise and Financial Institutions Tax of $9,500 due to the levy shift. Any remaining balance in the CJF after it is declared dormant may be transferred to the Rainy Day Fund.

2. A review of the Health Department fees and charges should be undertaken to ensure that users are being charged to recover the costs of those services. To bridge funding gaps, the county could make permanent transfers from the Economic Development Income Tax Fund, as necessary, or shift property tax from CGF to the Health Fund (provided the CGF can afford to receive less property tax).

3. Consider adopting the aforementioned wheel tax.

4. Reestablish the CCD Fund rate up to the full rate allowable under state statute ($0.0333). By doing so, the county could generate approximately $996,000 of additional revenues based on 2014 certified assessed value. Althought the CCD Fund is limited to specific purposes, the county is permitted to transfer monies from CCD to the Rainy Day Fund equal to 10 percent of combined DLGF approved budgets.

5. As necessary, transfer from E.D.I.T. to supplement the funding of operating costs in the General Fund.

Todd Samuelson of Umbaugh expressed that these steps could get Kosciusko County’s operating funds back to optimal cash reserves. The wheel tax could be enacted as soon as next month, and Kosciusko County officials will consider and address the other measures in the near future.

Umbaugh’s charts and graphs from the study are in the slide show below to provide an idea of what these budgetary measures could mean for the county’s financial future.