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$359 Million County Budget Introduced
By Bill McLaughlin
The 2008 Ocean County budget was unveiled by Freeholder John Bartlett at the group's preboard meeting last week.
The $359 million budget is scheduled to be formally introduced at the February 20 Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting and then available for review and comment by county residents at its March 19 open public meeting. Bartlett had indicated months ago that belttightening was in order as a looming recession clouded the financial landscape.
Last year's county budget totaled $344 million.
Bartlett told the board every department was squeezed for savings and economies of all kinds, but not to the point the people's work won't continue.
"This is a maintenance budget that lets us live within our means," Bartlett said. "No surprises, just little adjustments here and there."
The county will hold the line on new hires, without calling for a total hiring freeze, and may add fewer summer interns and temporary seasonal workers this year. Bartlett said current employees would not be tempted with an early-retirement buyout.
Stressing the necessity for tightening the purse strings, Bartlett said the county would continue to provide the services expected by a variety of constituents from seniors to vocational students to library patrons and those requiring a vast number of social services.
Although the county tax rate of 25.37 cents represents a 1.6 cent decrease, Bartlett cautioned against calling it "a drop in taxes."
"The savings will be about $5 on a $300,000 home," he said.
Bartlett called the next two years "uncertain for those trying to keep Ocean County affordable" for its citizens. He cited seven factors weighing heavily in the final numbers, including a state-mandated $44 million pension contribution in the next few years.
According to Bartlett, the budget was developed with seven facets in mind: 1) a $1 million savings closing the construction/ inspection office by July 1 with the resulting loss of 17 people; 2) monitoring overtime with the goal of reducing last year's totals by $1 million, with larger departments being asked to cut overtime by 15 percent and smaller departments by 10 percent; 3) no new positions would be formed; 4) projected savings in utilities, even though a 10 percent rise in electricity is already on the books for June; 5) education will receive increases of four percent, instead of five percent as in the past; 6) cash capital and money from fees and licenses in new housing will drop by $2.5 million year-to-year; 7) department managers are being asked to look for further consolidations of manpower and costs reductions.
Bartlett said the budget will come in below the local Consumer Price Index of 5.2 percent despite a $600,000 presidential primary cost and a 5.5 percent tax base increase. Although the breadth of the tax base increased last year, Bartlett said, the future is far from rosy.
"In 2009, we look for further slow down, and possibly a (further) decrease in (property) values," he said, adding that a decrease in the fees collected in the millions might force a further reduction in the surplus money on hand.
Unforeseen cash flow problems caused by slow state and federal government remittances for projects in which the county lays out the seed money are complicating matters.
"There's been a slowdown in grant reimbursements - $8.3 million - that we're waiting for," Bartlett said. "That amounts to $300,000 in lost interest."
Bartlett addressed those projects in another
way. He said the county would not become "the source of last resort," picking up the
slack where other levels of government fail to fund promised projects.
"We cannot just pick up anything the state drops," he said, referring to unfunded or under-funded programs.
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