The Crawford County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved the county's 2009 budget, which included a slight increase in the mil levy.
The final budget called for a 45.225 mil levy to fund the county's $20,776,363 in anticipated expenditures for the coming year. That's an increase of 1.332 mils, but a decrease of $1,345,905 from the current year's budget. The actual amount of tax that will be collected increased, from $10,518,000 for 2008 to $10,983,000 for next year.
County Clerk Don Pyle explained the bulk of the difference came from a change in the way the county documented funds used to pay for insurance and other benefits for its employees. This year, the county's estimated Risk Management Reserve expenditures were in excess of $2.85 million, Pyle said. Next year, those funds are earmarked at $300,000. The difference isn't in actual funding, Pyle said. The money will still be spent on insurance premiums, self-insurance claims and other employee benefits, as needed.
In previous years, the county listed the funds as an in-going line item under Risk Management, but it was part of the Employee Benefits line item when it was paid out, Pyle said. The new way of listing just reflects where the money actually is being spent, he said.
After general fund and employee benefits, the county's Road and Bridge Department represents the third largest line item on the budget again this year. Almost 7 mils of the total 45.225 mil tax levy goes to pay for the cost of maintaining Crawford County roads.
“One thing I think we need to talk about, a clarification on the Road and Bridge” budget, Commissioner Tom Moody said. “We had a pretty good increase, but, on the other hand, our expenditures were way up too.”
Expenditures for the Road and Bridge Department were set at $3,186,085 for the coming year, an increase of more than $65,500 from the current year's estimated final expenses. The increase was mandated by the steadily-increasing costs the county is paying for fuel, asphalt and other items used by the department, Commissioner Bob Kmiec said.
“Our supplies have went up 30 to 40 percent,” Kmiec said.
The increase in costs is an economic challenge being faced by entities around the state and around the country.
“Everybody in every agency around has the same problem we have with fuel,” Commissioner Ralph McGeorge said. “It's the main issue that's effecting the economy of the country.”
Kmiec added: “We would all have liked to see a (tax) decrease instead of an increase. But I don't know how we'd have been able to have done it and maintained the services that we have.”
The Board also unanimously approved 2009 budgets for the four volunteer fire department districts and the various sewer districts in Crawford County.
In other business, the Board:
• Received a report, via County Counselor Jim Emerson, from Triad Environmental Services in Pittsburg on the old Crawford County Landfill north of Frontenac.
“We're still required to do upkeep on the old landfill,” Emerson said. “We need to determine how much of this we can do ourselves and how much we need to contract out.”
The total estimated cost of the maintenance, which is required by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, was listed at $138,400, including contingencies and construction oversight fees. The landfill was closed in 1994 and the post closure plan requires the site be maintained for 30 years, or until released by KDHE.
The area was most recently inspected in March. Shawnee-based Deffenbaugh Industries also maintains water-quality wells on the site, which are routinely sampled and the results reported to KDHE.
KDHE identified several areas where maintenance was needed, which included primarily weed control, tree removal, filling in of low spots and gully repairs. The landfill site is divided into three areas, and the commissioners asked Emerson to determine responsibility for each of the three areas, based on county contracts.
Deffenbaugh may be required to perform maintenance on the area it is responsible for and there may be obligations on the part of a third party, who leases a portion of the area, according to a cover letter with the report.
“There's no real deadline, but KDHE would like us to get out there and at least get part of it done,” Emerson said. “They'd like to see some progress.”
After reviewing the report, commissioners noted some if not all of the work probably could be done by county crews, which would save the county a sizable portion of the expenses.
“If we can wait until the end of the year, when we're done mowing roadsides, we can do most of that mowing on our own,” Kmiec said.
The commissioners took no action on the report at Monday's meeting.
• Approved a last-minute contract between the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Crawford County Health Department for a Public Health Preparedness and Response grant, totaling $36,295. Janice Goedeke, Health Department director, told Commissioners she'd just received the contract for approval and had to have it signed and sent back to Topeka by Friday. The grant funds will be used to fund training and equipment for respond to emergency events anywhere in Crawford County, Goedeke said. Such events could include a sudden outbreak of illness such as pandemic flu or natural disasters, including tornadoes, she said.
The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be 10 a.m., Friday in chambers at the Crawford County Courthouse in Girard. The Aug. 2 commissioners meeting is cancelled due to the Labor Day holiday.