08-11-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--August 11,2003 2629 DEPARTMENT HEADS-PLEASE POST IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE FOR STAFF TO READ SPECIAL MEETING OF CASS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING IN BUDGET SESSION AUGUST 11, 2003 MEETING TO ORDER Chairman Scott Wagner called the budget meeting to order at 1:00 PM on August 11, 2003, in the Commission Room, Cass County Courthouse, with members present as follows: Robyn Sorum, John Meyer, Vern Bennett, Darrell Vanyo and Scott Wagner. Also present were County Auditor Michael Montplaisir, County Coordinator Bonnie Johnson and Accountants Deb Ness and Mary Matheson. BUDGET OVERVIEW, Requests reviewed with various departments Mr. Montplaisir gave an overview of the 2004 budget requests, as submitted by all county departments and several outside agencies. Cass County's taxable valuation is projected to be $297 million, which is 6.5% higher than the previous year. Using the general fund as an example, Mr. Montplaisir said revenues for 2004 are projected at $16,785,406. Budget requests total $18,866,913, or $2.1 million higher than revenues. He reminded commissioners of a standing policy to maintain a reserve of 10% of expenditures. Commission Mrs. Johnson indicated the Sheriff may be suggesting in his budget that the security station at the jail be staffed by a sheriff's employee, rather than the current contractual services. If a change is made in the security contract, she believes it should be handled the same for all of the county buildings. Coordinator The budget includes $10,000 to replace the copy machine in personnel with one that could be used as a secondary copier/printer for the auditor's office when printing tax statements. Mrs. Johnson said salaries in this year's budget include the normal step increases and a cost of living adjustment, in addition to a 3.4% increase to the county pay scale as determined after a market survey by the county's consultant, Fox Lawson and Associates. The county has strived to reach the market goal in past years, and she sees this as an opportunity to meet it this year with a 3.4% scale adjustment. Buildings and Grounds The budget amount is nearly the same as the previous year, and Mrs. Johnson said she held the line on jail expenditures because of negotiated extended warranties on the new facility. There was a consensus to remove $5,000 at this time for intercom software, which was done in the 2003 budget. The total county coordinator budget is up by .004%. Auditor Projects in the budget include additional software for the HTE packages (financial, payroll, etc) and revamping the vault filing system to make the space more useable and provide storage for the electronic portion of the election equipment.