Commissioners Frustrated, ‘Disheartened’ By Unbalanced Budget

Tucked inside a lengthy discussion Tuesday about the decision to consult with a CPA firm for guidance on budget issues was lament from commissioners about the state of the general revenue budget and how “disheartening” it was to find out the balanced budget they thought they passed in January is still considered unbalanced by the state auditor’s office.

Commissioners spoke with the auditor in closed session before it was released July 31. They did not reveal details of the meeting until Tuesday.

District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast said he was under the impression that the 2017 budget was considered balanced.

“Then they said, ‘you didn’t account for the deficit.’ It turned me off,” he said. “To tell us we didn’t pass one as we clawed our way to zero…they said it doesn’t work that way.”

Commissioners spent long hours in January to balance the budget. Money was moved around in the budget and big savings were realized from only holding one election in 2017. The commission was able to avoid drastically cutting services or worse — personnel.

Read more in the Aug. 23 issue of the Independent News.