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County council replacing cut moneyApr 16, 2011 (Pharos-Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- LOGANSPORT County council members learned Friday that they might have to spend money they thought they had cut from the budget to deal with a shortfall in tax revenues. Council members voted unanimously to return $50,000 to the 9-1-1 dispatch center budget. The money had been taken out to help meet a state-mandated reduction of about $1 million from the county's general fund. Through an interlocal agreement, the city and county each appropriate $100,000 to cover any 9-1-1 costs not covered by revenues from telephone charges. During budget-cutting efforts in January, the council removed its $100,000 appropriation. Dr. Ralph Anderson, council president, noted that the council had asked Dan McDonald, the central dispatch director, whether his budget could withstand the $100,000 hit. McDonald said it could, but he informed Anderson a month later that he was wrong. What the first-year director didn't realize, he said, was that the dispatch center had run in the red in 2010. Anderson said McDonald had mistakenly counted as revenue the $200,000 from the city and county and rollover funds from a monthly 50-cent charge to cell phone users. McDonald, who did not attend the meeting, said in an interview afterward that those funds were all listed in the same category in the ledger that tracks dispatch funds. "I had assumed it was money earned when it wasn't," McDonald said. After the meeting, Anderson said even with the correct information, the council still would have taken at least some of the $100,000. McDonald does not believe Friday's appropriation will be enough to cover the shortfall because last year's operating costs exceeded revenues by $207,000. The shortfall, McDonald said, comes from the popularity of cell phones. The monthly 9-1-1 fee for landlines is $3, but as people drop landlines in favor of cell phones, the communications center loses revenue. "The landline fund is just not producing the revenue that it used to produce," McDonald said. One dispatcher position has been cut, and McDonald and the assistant director pick up shifts to cut back on overtime. McDonald hopes the efforts will result in savings. At the same meeting, Anderson asked Sheriff Randy Pryor how his department stood regarding fuel and vehicle maintenance. Pryor said that through the first three months of the year, the department had spent $46,000 -- nearly half of its budget for the year. Since January, Pryor has been warning the council that he would need more money to keep patrol cars on the road. The council cut $50,000 from Pryor's fuel budget, which also covers car repairs. The county finds itself in a difficult financial situation. The council has already dipped into reserves to avoid layoffs this year. County officials have said that might not be possible for 2012. The council voted to take the $50,000 for dispatch from the public safety fund. Councilman Grover Bishop mentioned the new bulletproof vests to replace the expired ones being worn by sheriff's deputies and the possible expense of firearms for probation officers. Anderson said that not all of those expenses could be taken out of public safety. He said the council might tap into the rainy day fund, but he said he wanted to avoid dipping into the general fund. The county also has a murder case getting under way. County attorney John Hillis informed the council on Friday that murder trials can be "budget busters." Some reach the $500,000 mark and higher for attorneys fees and experts, he said. Fifteen-year-old Bradley Hunt is facing a murder charge in the stabbing death of 19-year-old Zachery M. Franklin during a fight in January. Attorneys Jay Hirschauer and Mark Leeman have been appointed to represent Hunt. They will be paid out of a public defender fund. Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or [email protected]. To see more of Pharos-Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pharostribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |