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Freeholder Warns Of Lean Fiscal Times In New Year
Times In New Year By Bill McLaughlin
Preliminary reviews of the county budget for 2008 reflect a general downturn in the economy, said Ocean County Freeholder John Bartlett.
County department heads have been told to "batten down the hatches," he said.
"I think Ocean County is better prepared for the coming of bad times than most government entities because the county has been run on a pay-as-you-go basis and made allowances for a larger cash reserve than all but two New Jersey county governments," said Bartlett.
Bartlett addressed critics who long maintained that smaller cash reserves could mean putting the money to work, lowering taxes or funding new initiatives.
"It allows us to maintain expenditures where there is no change in the services the county delivers," he said. "We have nothing extraordinary planned for the 2008 budget. I met with (key people) and we all agree there will be a shift in gears, a down shift."
The county government pays a large stake in big ticket items up front to keep interest payments down.
At past budgetary hearings, taxpayers have warned that having a sizable surplus works against a government entity. But Bartlett said good times inevitably are followed by down times economically. On a day when the data on home foreclosures in Ocean County indicated an all time record, and the leading indicators all say revenues from taxes and fees will be done in 2008, Bartlett said the only fiscally sound policy has always been: don't spend what you don't have.
"We've always tried to do things the right way," he said. "That's why we've paid for half of our capital improvements with cash. It makes bonding for the rest more palatable for us and for the lenders."
As the tax base shrinks, Bartlett said the county will either use more surplus funds or cut back on capital expenditures. Ocean County still has more people moving in than out, with a tax base that's up 5.6 percent over last year. While this indicates a higher rake off of tax funds for now, Bartlett warned that the future is murkier and unlikely to meet the giddy levels of the last decade.
"That doesn't mean more difficult times will translate into tax increases," he added.
The home mortgage problem is a worry, according to Bartlett, because potentially, hundreds of county residents could be forced out of their homes, or into reconfigured mortgages that would choke them financially. However, the sudden drop in home prices has produced a stagnant marketplace, which could also have financial ramifications for the government.
"As prices come down, it has had the effect of making people sit on their houses, hoping for a better market," Bartlett said.
As the longest-tenured current freeholder, Bartlett has seen good times and bad. He cautions against profligate spending even in the best of times.
"No question this looks like a tight year ahead," Bartlett said. "I told department heads, there will be restructuring. In good times, you do lots of things; other times, you look to scale back and try to increase productivity. Retrenchment is a good word to use in this case."
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