Budget process takes next step

Two days of budget presentations left county commissioners wondering how to prioritize $2.2 million in reductions.

In the end, it may come down to filling out a list and hashing out where the money will come from.

"Over the last several years departments have done all the cutting possible," Commission Chairman Michael Olson said. "Now we have to balance the budget on personnel cuts."

Commissioner Greg Lynn said part of the problem was the increased expectations people brought with them when they moved to Douglas County.

"We have an odd demographic here," he said. "People wanted to escape the urban issues that grew up around them, so they come to this small town and bring expectations we can't fulfill."

His example was the grindings the county has placed on several roads to keep the dust down. Once the county started putting the grindings on one road, everyone started expecting them.

"We need to confront the fact that our ability to budget on services and supplies is done," he said. "What's left is personnel costs and benefits because they are unsustainable."

Commissioners disagreed on where cuts should be made.

Lynn said some services are more critical than others.

"When your house is on fire, you call the fire department, not the library," he said.

But Olson pointed out that the library, senior center and parks have been first on the list for a long time.

"All I ask is that you don't go after parks and recreation, the library and senior center right away," he said.

Commissioner Dave Brady said one of the real problems is that commissioners weren't getting any indication that the recession is ending.

"We have no real ability to see when this downturn is passing," he said. "We need to focus on making data-driven decisions and look at caseloads per person. We simply don't have the money to employ the same number of people.

Commissioner Doug Johnson, who spoke last, pointed out that none of the direction provided by commissioners was specific enough to put together the final budget.

County Manager T. Michael Brown agreed with Johnson, saying setting priorities for budget cuts were commissioners' call.

He offered to provide them each a list that they could use to prioritize services, but said eventually the decision would belong to commissioners.

The county has until May 17 to turn in a balanced budget to the state. Brown asked that commissioners not wait until that day.

Commissioners heard from three residents during Tuesday night's budget workshop.

Gardnerville resident Mary Robbins, 86, made a plea for maintaining the senior center's budget.l

"I'm not legally blind," she said. "I'm blind blind. We're older people who cannot hold down a professional job. But we're still good citizens. I moved her 17-18 years ago and I've been volunteering two days a week ever since. We need our senior center."

Wildhorse resident Paula Sibley came with a complaint about the roads in her subdivision.

She said there was so much gravel on the road that residents come out and sweep it up, only to have the street sweeper come along and disturb it again.

"I did not pay for my house to live on a dirt road," she said. "The dust is awful. I can't let my grandson play in the front yard the dust is so bad. I think we deserve better."

Gardnerville resident Jack Van Dien suggested the county establish a separate fund for a pipeline between Minden and Carson City.

Brown said the county was working on it.

Commissioners discussed the budget at their Lake Tahoe meeting today.