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Petty: County will see big cut to debt
Published Wednesday, September 30, 2009
County administrator Brenda Petty said Wednesday’s passage of the 2009-2010 fiscal year budget is the first step in eliminating “a tremendous amount of the county’s debt” within the next three years.
The $25.8 million budget is the first “combined operating budget” under the unit system and does not include a cost of living raise for employees, but did include the absorption of an $85,000 increase in health insurance costs.
“This is a different budget than we’ve ever had before,” said Petty, who pointed out the only difference in revenue between this year’s fiscal budget and the newly adopted one is $3.2 million expected from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“With that money, I was able to make a balanced budget,” Petty said. “We were able to make a good attempt at correcting a deficit fund balance in the gas tax account. It’s going to take two years, but we’ve got a good start on it.
“We will also see a significant decrease in our equipment debt this year,” she said. “Half of it will pay out in this budget and when you don’t see us having those high payments, that money can be used to pay on outstanding equipment. I’d say in a two to three year period, we’ll see a tremendous decrease in the county’s debt.”
Commissioner David Ellis said that, with the exception of pay raises, each county department was “given nearly every dollar they asked for.”
Chairman Lynn Sasser said departments would “look at things cautiously,” and that if things “are stable,” commissioners would examine giving pay raises and the possibility of paying overtime, instead of employees accruing compensatory time.
Comments
Posted by tankmaster (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 12:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If the county administrator is doing all of the budget work and has it possibly balanced, what in the devil do we need the commissioners for?
Posted by Covington23 (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 3:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The tax paying citizens have yet another question......The state audit that was completed and published on Sept 11, 2009 stated on page 50
"Compensatory Leave
Employees of the Commission are paid overtime rates for all hours in excess of 40 hours and do not accrue compensatory leave. The overtime rate is calculated at one and one-half times the regular hourly rate. At September 30, 2008, no liability for unpaid sick leave is accrued in the financial statements since employees do not receive termination payments for sick leave balances. As of September 30, 2008, the liability for accrued annual leave is approximately $349,404.41. This amount is reported as payable in the government activities on the Statement of Net Assets."
That is directly from the audit.
Fact: County employees have not been receiving overtime, they have been accruing COMP TIME that has to be taken before any sick or vacation time. '
Fact: As stated by the Chairman in this article,
"Chairman Lynn Sasser said departments would “look at things cautiously,” and that if things “are stable,” commissioners would examine giving pay raises and the possibility of paying overtime, instead of employees accruing compensatory time."
Question: Who lied to the State of Alabama
Department of Examiners of Public Accounts auditor about employees not accruing COMP TIME and just how much is the County Commission liable for accrued COMP TIME ? $50,000 $100,000 $500,000
Question: Can anything be done to the County Commission for giving false information to the auditor ?
It is a slap in the face of all county employees not to get at least a 1% cost of living raise when alot of them are struggling to make ends meet and the select few make well over $50,000.00 a year.
Posted by hammer1 (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So is the County Commission paying ovetime to all employees or not?
Posted by sweetnannie (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 8:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I will say the budget will be lost...soon, if they don't start fixing some of the county roads. The grass is taking over most and has come way over into the edges of them, just eating pavement. All it would take is one of the peices of equipment to grade off the edges of the road and push the grass back. Oh well, new roads are coming.
Posted by gasman (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
it's a shame the people who really work won't get a raise while the QUEEN is still raking in the money and the roads are in bad shape but if anyone needs any grader blades Dist.1 should have a plenty
Posted by kbklc (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The county has people mowing grass that are making well more than the deputies!!!! HOW STUPID IS THIS!
Posted by ToldYouSo (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Notice that the Queen says that it's going to happen in a two or three year period??? Will this be after her tenue and someone else will have to answer as to why it DIDN'T happen? Oh well, by then there'll be another crisis and we wont remember.
This is probalbly the same type "smoke and mirrows" that will soon surface by attempting to sell the arena...then no one will raise the question as to why there was approximately 2 MILLION DOLLARS MORE spent on it's construction than on buildings in other states comparable to it. Where did that money go? Anyone else wondering about this???
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
kbklc wrote "The county has people mowing grass that are making well more than the deputies!!!!" First of all I have respect for law enforcement but there are alot of jobs that pay more than what the deputies are making. I don't think its near as dusty or hot riding in that police car, as it would be on a tractor.
Posted by kbklc (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 5:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thats right lookeyhere....Those people riding those tractors around are risking their lives....They should be making more.....And BTW a deputies job is not just in a police car.....I just think for the training that they go thru to be a law enforcement officer they should make more than the non-trainable jobs in the county. Oh yeah another thought.....The commissioners shouldn't be making 25k a year either...They are part time. There is no way their job should be making more than some of the full time employees of the county.
Posted by rlb1940 (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 5:19 p.m.
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Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 6:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
kbklc yes I do agree with you the commissioners shouldn't be making 25 a year.
Posted by outlaw11 (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 6:45 p.m.
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Posted by rlb1940 (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 8:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
outlaw111, a Yahoo People search showed that Brenda Petty, County Administrator; and Gary Petty , County Veterans Assistance Coordinator lived at the same address and the same 'home' phone number, maybe their a brother and sister then, if not a married couple.
Posted by ToldYouSo (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 8:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
outlaw11; Are you trying to tell us "uninformed" something? Because, half this county KNOWS that the couple have been married for nearly all their adult life. Hell, how do you think he got the job???
Posted by tankmaster (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I know for a fact that they were a couple when the Brass Rail Lounge was still open in the old Charter House Inn, they were daily customers, came and went together and even on the dance floor, and unless I missed something when her lips touched his I would say they are married. Hardly ever missed a Happy Hour. Call your Congressman if you dont like things and write the Govenor, do something then maybe they will.
Posted by winkie (anonymous) on October 1, 2009 at 9:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gary and Brenda are good people who have worked hard to get where they are today. When the county was debt free I didn't hear anyone say ,"Thank you Brenda" but when Greg White bankruped the county, people put the blame on Brenda. Sorry you guy's but I would vote for Brenda for County Comm. Good Job Brenda.
Posted by gasman (anonymous) on October 2, 2009 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
winkie who wrote all those checks
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