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Butler County budget cuts fall short of deficit

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer 9:57 PM Thursday, November 5, 2009

HAMILTON — The first round of proposed cuts from officeholders and departments across Butler County fall far short of what’s needed to shore up a $6.6 million deficit expected next year.

Most budgets submitted over the past week include cuts. But there also are increases, most notably more than $1 million requested by the Board of Elections.

That money is needed, according to board Chairman Tom Ellis, because the agency is planning on a primary and general gubernatorial election next year, which take far more resources than the off-year races this year.

Altogether, officeholders slashed nearly $3.6 million from their budgets. But increases — which includes an additional $1.3 million county officials say is needed to maintain the new emergency radio system — total nearly $2.3 million.

This puts the county nearly $5.3 million short, or only about $1.3 million from where they started.

Commission President Donald Dixon said he’s not surprised that some officeholders didn’t comply with cuts requested by commissioners. “All they get from us is mixed messages,” Dixon said. “I think we need to change the tone of our budget requests.”

Instead of commissioners demanding cuts, Dixon suggested all the elected officeholders should meet to agree on the numbers and a plan to achieve them.

“We can’t do this separately,” he said. “We have to do this together.”

Domestic Relations Judge Sharon Kennedy — who spearheaded a budget work group of elected officials from across the county to address the crisis — agrees that better communication is needed. She said the work group has no quick-fix suggestions.

“I don’t think there’s any cost savings we discussed that could come up with $6.6 million,” she said.

But there is less than two months remaining to pare the budget down to $89.2 million. This is what Finance Director Pete Landrum forecasts the county’s revenues will be after investments and sales tax are battered by recession.

And the elected official with the largest single budget is defiant.

Sheriff Richard K. Jones cut $296,940 from his office, which brings his submitted budget to $23.5 million, not including the jails, which he says operate at a profit.

But this falls far short of the $2.5 million cut the commissioners office had asked of him. He refused, citing public safety concerns.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.