2012 results in unexpected budget surplus for Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County ended 2012 with a budget surplus the staff wasn’t expecting, meaning it will have more money to work with as it faces a structural deficit in its next budget cycle.
The county was planning to end 2012 by contributing $1.89 million to its fund balance. Because it ended with an overall surplus of $2.26 million, it was able to add an extra $372,607 to its general fund.
![032113_Washtenaw_County.JPG](http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/2013/03/032113_Washtenaw_County-thumb-400x266-137799.jpg)
The Washtenaw County Administration Building on Main Street in Ann Arbor.
Chris Asadian | AnnArbor.com file photo
The county brought in about $540,000 more in property tax revenue in 2012 than it anticipated, the majority of which was accomplished through the county’s conservative budget estimate for the revenue for the year, said Tina Gavalier, the county's financial advisor.
That figure was slightly offset by a $686,934 shortfall in the budget for the sheriff’s office -- about 92 percent of which is a result of the delay in the consolidation of police dispatch services with the city of Ann Arbor.
About $52,000 of the shortfall in the sheriff’s department budget was due to overtime reimbursement rates, Gavalier said.
The police dispatch consolidation is projected to save both the county and city money, but a delay in the planned implementation date caused the county to initially have to pay out more than it intended.
“The county is stepping up to the plate and putting forward resources to help that consolidation go forward because we believe in this regional approach,” said Commissioner Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor. “We’re making an investment for the sake of regionalism.”
In particular, the sheriff’s office was able to improve an initially negative outlook for its budget from the first quarter by eliminating $695,000 that the department originally was projected to be over budget.
The sheriff’s office ended the year with a modest $25,000 surplus due to strategically not filling open positions, lower than budgeted spending and using a medical reserve fund to offset health care costs for inmates.
Overall, the county had a $797,970 revenue surplus for 2012. Coupled with expenditures -- in which the county saw significant savings -- the county has a positive surplus in its expenditure budget of $1.46 million.
Those surplus savings came in the form of $336,000 saved in personnel costs through attrition, position vacancies and planned reductions, as well as departmental operating savings of $309,000.
Gavalier gave the Board of Commissioners a year-end budget update for 2012 at its Ways and Means meeting Wednesday night.
In the following full board meeting Wednesday, the board approved 10-year-long contracts with five of its unions and a five-year-long contract with another of its unions.
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.
Comments
ThinkingOne
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 : 3:20 p.m.
A note as to what the term of the county's fiscal year is would have been helpful; or even a note that the fiscal year matched the calendar year if that was the case. We had light snow overall for the winter of 2011/12 and extremely little in Nov/Dec 2012, but it is unclear what part of these time periods are covered by the 2012 budget.
ThinkingOne
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 : 5:37 p.m.
PI Thanks for the info. Seems to be non-intuitive. Live and learn.
SalineTeacher
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 : 4:24 p.m.
Snowfall (or not) has no impact on Washtenaw County's budget; the Washtenaw County Road Commission is not part of the county.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 : 12:07 p.m.
"In particular, the sheriff's office was able to improve an initially negative outlook for its budget from the first quarter by eliminating $695,000 that the department originally was projected to be over budget. The sheriff's office ended the year with a modest $25,000 surplus due to strategically not filling open positions, lower than budgeted spending and using a medical reserve fund to offset health care costs for inmates." Our sheriff appears to be a highly capable administrator who is able to overcome unexpected adversity and still meet his budget for the year. Well done, sir!
Mike
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 8:17 p.m.
That would explain the extension of the cotracts with the unions for another ten years..............way to spend our money!
Mike
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 8:16 p.m.
Must be the sequestration.................
rsa221
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 6:01 p.m.
Can we afford the Humane Society contract now?
Basic Bob
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.
It's a hundred million dollar annual budget, and they nailed it, spending 0.4% less than planned. Congratulations on a job well done.
JBK
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 4:13 p.m.
Gee. Lets see how fast we can spend it.............:) Roads, road and roads. Did I say road repair?
Goofus
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 2:20 p.m.
These budget surpluses have a very very curious ability to suddenly appear...as if by magic!!!...right after the BOC and govt. conclude their union negotiations every cycle. And those negotiations just concluded. Hmmmm. Prior to those negotiations, it's all deficits and "structural holes" in the budget that require austerity and comprehensive belt-tightening. Hmm. Curious.