The county issued a hiring freeze for departments in May for next year.
The sheriff’s finance director Vickie Barger wrote in addition to a couple new officers for the Liberty Twp. outpost and school resource officers, “The additional FTE evolves around the care and security of the Federal inmates. If the level of federal inmates (detainees) should decrease, the additional FTE would be reduced through attrition.”
The inmate numbers fluctuate daily but at the end of May there were 263 ICE detainees, 194 U.S. Marshals prisoners and 940 total inmates. On Friday, there were 962 total inmates, 335 were ICE detainees and 167 were Marshals’ prisoners.
Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer told the Journal-News if the jail population decreases, it won’t be difficult to shed staff since turnover in the corrections world is constant.
“If I had a big increase on patrol that would be different because you don’t lose a lot of people through attrition,” he said. “If I have a problem in the jail and I need to lose 10 spots that can be done just with 10 people quitting.”
Jones told the Journal-News “a lot has changed” since the commissioners instituted the hiring freeze and he said the revenues for this year will be $3 million higher than projected at roughly $11 million. Next year with roughly 500 — between ICE and U.S. Marshals — paid federal inmates, they could reach $20 million with the rate hikes. About four of the new hires will also be paid by the schools and Liberty Twp.
“We always work with the commissioners, they work with us,” he said.
The Journal-News examined all of the budget submissions and the others don’t indicate any new positions.
Another new wrinkle in the county’s revenue plan is the estimated $13.5 million property tax break the commissioners approved.
The finance department is still examining the numbers but the general fund budgets the various entities summitted are nearly identical to the tax budget commissioners approved in July. Expenditures were estimated at $132 million to be paid with $146 million in revenues.
County Administrator Judi Boyko told the Journal-News the county is still on target for a structurally balanced budget — meaning they don’t spend more than they collect in revenues — even with the tax break.
Another “change” for next year is the county is going back to the traditional two-plus-two pay for performance raise program. The commissioners for several years have operated with a two-part performance pay formula that calls for pay hikes up to 2% added to an employee’s base pay and another 2% available in lump sum payments. The county will return to that model next year.
In recent years they have deviated from the plan, giving employees larger pay bumps to be competitive in attracting and retaining staff. Of the 13 offices whose budgets are backed with general fund dollars that mentioned raises in their submissions, nine indicated they’ll stick with the two-plus-two plan. The others expressed a desire to up their employees pay by 4% to 6%.
The other elected officials are free to adopt their own pay programs, Auditor Nancy Nix, Probate Court Judge John Holcomb, Prosecutor Mike Gmoser, Recorder Danny Crank and Treasurer Mike McNamara all said they are following the commissioners’ plan, the others either said they are going higher or didn’t mention pay raises.
“Many of the county employees are employed under a different appointing authority than the board of commissioners, and some of the elected offices have graciously followed the commissioners’ two-and-two,” Boyko said. “Others have not.”
All funds combined, the total spending plan for next year — based on the tax budget — amounts to $542.5 million which represents a 7% increase.
Commissioner Don Dixon said the budgets are in pretty good shape now, but that could change with federal budget changes on social services. “It could get ugly,” he said.
About the Author