KEITH READY, Courier Contributor
Saturday, July 7, 2012 9:33 am

Cannon County Government employees may receive a 3 percent raise this year.

Cannon County Schools may have as much as 6 cents moved from its share of the property tax rate, with the money transferred to the County General Fund.

Cannon County taxpayers may see an increase in the property tax this year of around 10 cents.

The Cannon County Commission may pass a budget for this fiscal year when it meets next Saturday (July 14) and set the property tax rate as well.

Then again, it may end up being the case that none of the aforementioned events transpire.

County employees have not received a raise in five years, but the County Commission’s Budget Committee has been mulling over recommending a FY2012-3013 budget with a raise in place.

One problem is the county’s Fund Balance is at a critical stage. Under optimal conditions the county would have one month of operating expenses on hand at all times. The projected average monthly expenditure for FY2012-2013 is $401,000.

Projected Revenues and Expenditures for FY2011-2012 were close to being accurate since the year ended June 30. Estimated Revenue is projected to end at $5,724,700, with final expenditures for 2011-2012 estimated at $5,860.639, leaving an Ending Fund Balance of $501,014.

Following last Thursday’s Budget Committee meeting, the estimated Ending Fund Balance as of June 30, 2013 sat at $60,000. If, due to the possibility Cannon County Schools may not need as much funding because of a decrease in the student population, and around 6 cents can be moved from its share of the property tax rate to the General Fund, the projected Ending Fund Balance would be $160,000.

Current figures show in FY2010-2011 the county spent $63,852 more than it raised; $135,939 more in the just-completed fiscal year; and at this point in the budgeting process is projected to outspend revenue by about $425,000 this year.

With figures added in for a 3 percent raise for county employees for this fiscal year, the Budget Committee looked to trim other expenses throughout the entire budget Thursday in anticipation of putting a recommendation together to present to the Cannon County Commissioners in time for its Saturday meeting.

The Budget Committee went through each department's budget and $41,500 in requests were either cut or eliminated. 

First on the elimination table was the $1,000 line item of Overtime in the Election Commission's request.

Most departments’ requests were left alone in this round of budget cuts; however, the Sheriff's Department budget felt the ax.

Overtime Pay was cut by $5,000 to $20,000. Communication was cut back to $15,000. The total trimming of $8,000 from the Sheriff's Department budget cut it from $935,674. to $927,674.

The Jail budget received a $5,000 cut on the request of Maintenance and Repair Services for buildings, going from $25,000 to $20,000.

The County Fire Department’s budget received the biggest cuts of the night.

Gasoline Budget was trimmed $2,000 from a requested $10,000. Uniforms were cut to $13,000. Office Supplies were knocked down to $500 and Other Charges got chopped $5,000 to leave the amount at $2,000.

The Committee then took a look at the county’s Contributions List (money given to outside agencies). The Cannon County Chamber of Commerce is requesting $10,000. After discussion, the general consensus of the Committee was to trim the request to $5,000, with an additional $1,200 awarded if the Chamber agrees to maintain the County Website. More details on that possibility will be discussed next Thursday.

The next meeting of the Cannon County Budget Committee will be Thursday, July 12th at 6:00 at the Cannon County Courthouse. The full County Commission will meet Saturday at 10 a.m.