Adams County Commissioners approve 2018 budget

During the Dec. 20 regular meeting in Othello, the Adams County Board of Commissioners approved the 2018 budget, totaling $30,332,995.

Commission chairman Jeff Stevens explained one of the goals for creating the 2018 budget was to utilize the financial resources the county had to maintain operations without making cuts to various departments.

Stevens said maintaining operations can be difficult because the revenue does not increase at the same rate as operating costs.

Stevens explained some departments are doing well within their budgets, while other are struggling. The problem is the commissioners cannot move funds from one department’s account to another without legally diverting the funds.

One example of this was when the commissioners diverted maintenance funds from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) budget to the Public Works Department in order to fund gravel road maintenance. The commissioners were able to do this without reducing the Sheriff’s Office budget.

For the 2017 budget, the commissioners diverted funds from the Public Works and Solid Waste Department to the ACSO fund a new deputy position.

The commissioners noted there were no major changes in the 2018 budget and it was consistent with last year’s budget.

The commissioners received more than $1.2 million in requests than they anticipated from different departments. Commissioner John Marshall said the commissioners would have liked to fulfill more requests, but the county does have the resources to do so.

The Sheriff’s Office requested for funds to hire more deputies, corrections officers and dispatchers.

Marshall said the commissioners want to see more deputies, but it is difficult to fulfill requests from the Sheriff’s Office and other departments because of limited resources.

There were also requests from the courthouse for interpreters to be available for cases. The commissioners would also like to hire a human resources person in the future.

Commissioner Roger Hartwig noted there are a number of open personnel positions in various departments. He said it is difficult for the county to find employees, not only because of resources, but also due to Adams County being located in a rural area.

Hartwig added other rural countries, and even some larger areas, are facing the same issue in finding employees.

Stevens said if there were resources in the budget to hire more employees, there would need to be revenue to sustain those positions for 3-5 years, which he added would take foresight on their part.

The budget also maintained a 2.5 percent Cost of Living Allowance for non-union employees, non-union exempt employees, and non-union management employees.

The increase for the insurance cap also increased to $720 for elected officials and non-union employees.

The following department’s funds were allocated for in the county’s Current Expense fund totaling $10,138,925.

The county has budgeted $348,644 for the Commissioners Department, and $235,914 for the Superior Court.

The Ritzville District Court has $328,781, and $334,877 has been allocated for the Othello District Court.

The Auditor’s Office has $430,386, the Clerk’s Office received $201,072 and the Treasurer’s Office had $305,129. The Assessor’s Office was budgeted for $399,660.

A total of $693,226 has been allocated for the Prosecuting Attorney Department, and $215,245 for the Support Enforcement Department.

The county has budgeted $1,834,013 for Police Operations, and $660,500 for the Care and Custody Department fund.

The Juvenile Department has $468,566, and the Planning and Building Department has been allocated $4412,490.

The county’s Current Expense Reserve fund currently has $1,200,000.

The Coroner and WSU Extension Departments funds have $30,200 and $147,067, respectively.

All three commissioners said they were pleased with the budget overall and glad they were able to stay consistent with the budgets from the previous two years. They also feel there is potential for revenue to increase during the year.