My Minutes: Budget Committee (2010.12.9)

A brief, but important meeting this past Thursday, December 9, 2011. Though I am not on the Budget Committee, I consider this committee worth attending since it obviously trickles down in its influence.

Final Advisor's Proposal -

It appears that the citizens of Robertson County should mark their calendars for January 13, 2011. I pass this along because this will be the day in which the County's Financial Advisor will share with the RCC the plan addressing the budgeted shortfall, and what he proposes the RCC do in order to address the budgeted shortfall.

Details of this anticipated meeting were sparse, and lacking in details, but it appears that some of the principals involved are anticipating that this means the RCC should consider a property tax increase. Needless to say, I find this disconcerting.

(Candidly, I feel that the progression of the discussion is misplaced. Meaning: the progression started with discussion of a tax increase, a re-structuring of our current debt….and lastly, the potential for discussions of cutting costs and spending. My position is that such discussions should be inverted.) But, I digress…
Remember, I would encourage any and all to attend the meeting of January 13, 2011.

Federal Education Grant –
The RC School Board requested an amendment to their annual budget due to their receipt of a grant from the federal government.

The amount was $72,000.00. Details were somewhat sparse in that there was no one from the School Board there in attendance, and Jody Stewart conveyed the information along to the Budget Committee.

I will be curious to see some of the details on this item since it would appear that the School Board is not returning $72,000.00 and that this grant represents an additional $72,000.00 that they are receiving from the federal government.

Mass Transit –
The proposal I have previously discussed in a post (here & here) was on the table for discussion. It was approved.

Interestingly enough, apparently there was a credit/refund from the County's worker's compensation insurance premium that will allow this to be funded without additional expenditure from the budget.