Zack Stoycoff
Staff Reporter
CLAREMORE —
Rogers County Commissioners oppose spending money carried over from last year’s budget — in spite of county officers who say they need money now.
“I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better and I know that with my personal money, I don’t need to spend it just because I have it,” District 3 commissioner Kirt Thacker said. “It makes no sense.”
Preliminary budget figures released this week have some county offices receiving less than they requested in 2011. Officials say that’s not unusual, but Sheriff Scott Walton, election board secretary Rebecca Dealy and the court clerk’s office asked commissioners this week to find more money to hire essential personnel.
Walton is asking for at least four new deputies, Court Clerk Candi Czapansky wants eight new employees and Dealy said at least one full time staffer is needed in the election board’s effort to decrease voter apathy in Rogers County.
“As the commissioners are well aware, 2.5 percent came out to vote on the courthouse (last December). That means 2.5 percent of the people decided how to spend millions of dollars on projects that affect us all,” Dealy said. “We’re trying to change that with voter outreach.”
Dealy said her office needs another employee to reach out to military voters over the Internet.
“I’m asking all y’all to rethink the budget,” she said.
She said a certified public accountant calculated that the election board would get 81.4 percent of what it asked for if the preliminary budget pans out, while other agencies will get more than 90 percent of what they requested.
“You look at these numbers and see the discrepancy,” she said.
Commissioners said some county offices are receiving all of what they asked for because they spent less last year and need less this year. The election board bought new furniture and upgraded security last year — one-time costs that will not be added to this year’s budget, District 1 Commissioner Dan DeLozier said.
Dealy said the election board needs more money this year to maintain recent purchases.
Commissioners rejected calls to use carryover funds — or money allotted in last year’s budget but not used — but said they will discuss options with the offices requesting more money.
“I am for keeping carryovers so you’re not throwing away money at the end of the year,” DeLozier said. While the need for new hires is obvious, spending carryover money now would mean layoffs next year if the economy nosedives again, commissioners said. And if the county starts spending carryover funds immediately, county offices would spend that money at the end of each year, they said.
“They wouldn’t want to take the chance that those funds wouldn’t be available to them,” DeLozier said. “We don’t need a spending spree in June every year.”
Allocation figures released this week are indeed preliminary, Budget Maker Melissa Anderson said. County offices will likely receive different allocations than suggested by the preliminary budget. The budget proposes $214,337 for the election board. The board asked for $262,095. The sheriff’s office is allotted nearly $1.8 million. It asked for about $2.2.
The court clerk wants $458,961. It’s given $299,786.
At Monday’s commissioners’ meeting, commissioners asked Anderson to change some allocations on the spot. DeLozier and District 2 Commissioner Mike Helm said their offices were given too much for travel, as they use county vehicles and do not need reimbursement for personal vehicles used for county business.
“There are a lot of little cuts we can make,” DeLozier said.
