Washtenaw County commissioners to hold special board retreat to discuss $20M structural deficit
Conan Smith says a number of county programs and services will be critically analyzed for elimination or restructuring as part of the upcoming budget process.
The chairman of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners has called for a special board retreat from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 29 in the county building at 220 N. Main St.
Conan Smith
Commissioners will use the meeting to talk about the county's next steps to address a $20 million structural deficit for 2012 and 2013, and give direction to the county's administration.
Smith, D-Ann Arbor, said one of his goals is to find ways for commissioners to connect and understand each other's priorities.
County Administrator Verna McDaniel plans to present a two-year budget to the county board in September, giving commissioners a proposal to debate this fall.
On the top of the list of departments that could face restructuring are Employment Training and Community Services, Economic Development and Energy, and Community Development.
Smith said there also are big savings to be had with the juvenile court move from Platt Road to the Washtenaw County Courthouse in downtown Ann Arbor, along with possibly some restructuring or reductions of the juvenile detention program.
Another major issue commissioners will be discussing in the coming months is the price that municipalities will pay for a contract sheriff’s deputy after this year.
The board passed a resolution in December that established a 2011 contract price of $150,594 per deputy. That's a 4 percent increase from last year's rate.
County officials recently calculated the actual cost per deputy at $168,584 — plus an additional $7,524 in overhead. The difference between the cost to the county and the price municipalities pay comes out of the county’s general fund right now.
"Now we're debating what to charge, which will be driven in part by how many deputies are contracted for in total … and in part by a discussion about the appropriate county investment in meeting our mandate," Smith said.
The union that represents Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies and corrections officers recently agreed to a freeze in pay for the next two years and other concessions expected to save the county nearly $4.43 million over the next four years. County officials are hoping for similar success in negotiations with the rest of the county's 17 collective bargaining units.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
digger boy
Tue, Jan 18, 2011 : 9:33 p.m.
this retreat would be a good time to revisit this washtenaw CUB agreement. Being more competitive on the construction contracting would be a painless way to save tax payer money. In this market place with all these construction companies competing for work, they have restricted the competitive bid process to a few companies. I believe most commissioners don't have a clue what's really happening here. Only one for sure does.
comm.man3000
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 9:58 p.m.
"County Administrator Verna McDaniel plans to present a two-year budget to the county board in September, giving commissioners a proposal to debate this fall." Was this a cut & paste error? It certainly is a non sequitor for an article posted in mid-Jan of 11!
Larry Kestenbaum
Tue, Jan 18, 2011 : 2:22 p.m.
Putting together a two-year budget (for calendar years 2012 and 2013) takes time. Also, some non-mandated county functions are likely to be eliminated in the new budget. There just isn't enough money for the county to continue to do everything it currently does. We can't expect the board to make snap decisions on this.
Bogie
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 9:27 p.m.
@shadowmanager- "I ain't no mathmetician, but I reckon there's a big difference between 168,000 and 18,000." If you want to look at quality of life, then take a drive south. There is retail, and industrial development flourishing. Why? you may ask. They have little regulation, and fiscal responsibility in government. Please have a sensible discussion about this matter. There are many "egghead" michiganders, who need to realize the simplicity of the cure. You take in "A" amount of money; you spend "A" amount of money- Not b,c, or d! No one is close to that 18000 figure, but it would be nice to see a 98000 figure.
stunhsif
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 8:30 p.m.
Kristin Judge said: "We travel to all parts of the county, and I have heard from many residents that they want to have enough officers on the streets in all areas. At some point, the price may become too much for smaller jurisdictions to pay." As a decision maker you can reduce the cost of police officers so more can be hired thus fulfilling your customers desires to have enough officers on the streets in all areas. The officers have agreed to a 2 year pay freeze. Now find ways to reduce their healthcare costs ( making them pay more perhaps like the private sector has had to do) with raising deductibles and copays on prescriptions in addition to making them fund more of their own pensions, better yet,drop pensions for new hires and go to 401K's. When I see my neighbor who lives in York Twp drive home every day in a Pittsfield Fire Department Ford Excursion (no on board fire equipment visible), it makes me wonder how seriously you folks are trying to really save money?
ShadowManager
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 8:14 p.m.
I don't believe the hype about privatization pushed by Mr. Ingersoll either. There are many services that simply are a cost of having a decent society that can never actually, make a profit for private enterprise, and hence don't actually get done properly when they are privatized. They are best done by the government because, frankly, private enterprise doesn't want to do them at a level of quality that befits our community's high standards. Caring for the indigent, homeless, disabled, education - special and otherwise, police work countywide, DHS follow-up and casework with abused children and spouses, oversight of restaurant sanitation, public safety and public health --- these are just a few of the services provided by County and Public Sector employees that have --- and never have had --- any approximation by the private sector in our area, county, or state in general.
Kristin Judge
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 5:54 p.m.
I am looking forward to setting priorities as a board. It is important that the administration is given clear direction from the officials who were elected by the people. Thank you Commissioner Smith for taking the initiative to pull this much needed discussion together. As the board begins to examine the "price" of a Police Service Unit (PSU), I hope we will consider the safety of Washtenaw County as a whole. Residents of Pittsfield Township do not only spend time in the Township. We travel to all parts of the county, and I have heard from many residents that they want to have enough officers on the streets in all areas. At some point, the price may become too much for smaller jurisdictions to pay. What happens then? Is it really ok for someone to wait 60+ minutes for a response to a 911 call? The Michigan State Police presence in our county has been reduced, so that is no longer the answer. Ann Arbor has also reduced officers. At what point will there just not be enough "boots on the ground" in Washtenaw County.
YpsiLivin
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 5:50 p.m.
Chase, Property taxes aren't the only source of revenues for the county. Check the county revenue information in the budget. It includes fines and penalties, fees for services, and state appropriations among other things.
Chase Ingersoll
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 4:48 p.m.
If property values are down 26% from their peak, then the government programs funded by real estate property taxes need to have that portion of the budget cut to match the decrease - 26%. You can't raise your budget during what everyone agrees is a BUBBLE and then complain about the reductions when the BUBBLE pops all over private sector. And let's stop calling it "Public Service" like it is somehow nobler than service in the Private Service Sector, which includes security guards, educators, health care workers, food providers, energy suppliers and providers in general of goods and services that are as essential if not moreso than anything provided by those on a government payroll. If pressed to choose, I would rather let the government workers collect unemployment and relieve my doctor, dentist, DTE worker, private hauler - scrap man, private schools, farmer, and gun manufacture of the regulation and taxes.
ShadowManager
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
Cutting labor costs is not the whole answer. Knocking everyone down to 9 bucks an hour, even though 80% of the County's jobs require a college degree, many advanced, won't do anything but turn the county into a McEmployer, and degrade services. The solid wages and labor of the public employees in our county has been one of the stalwarts (along with UM and the hospitals) which has kept Washtenaw County relatively stable economically relative to other areas of the state. The increase in labor costs is probably explainable by the fact that the cost of living is also disportionally high in Ann Arbor. Cutting upper management adminstration salaries, however...now that might be a good idea worth looking at.
AlphaAlpha
Mon, Jan 17, 2011 : 2:38 p.m.
A review of publicly available county budget documents shows a disproportionately large increase in labor costs in recent years. Labor costs need to be reduced; they currently are way above national averages even for public employees, let alone private sector employees. Reducing county labor costs will have an added benefit: more workers can be hired, reducing unemployment and improving county services.