Delaware County unveils 2024 tentative budget
Nov. 8—Delaware County unveiled its 2024 tentative budget during the board of supervisors meeting Nov. 8.
County Budget Director and Colchester Town Supervisor Art Merrill said the county made quite a few cuts to the budget before it was approved by the finance committee.
He said the county has a lot of employee vacancies and decided to "unfund the positions," instead of funding them in the budget. If the vacancy is filled, the county can use money from the contingency fund to fund the position.
Merrill said when the departments had made their recommendations for funding, the estimated tax levy increase would have been 23%. He said that was unacceptable and the budget was trimmed. The proposed tax levy increase is 1.9075%.
Merrill said there were a few factors that contributed to the increases in the proposed budget. The reimbursement rates for social services have changed and several employee contracts include a 4.25% increase next year. "This impinges on our fringe" benefits, he said. Health insurance rates have also increased almost 10%. To help with the retention of employees, the county also decreased the percentage employees contribute to their health insurance from 20% to 15%. This will help as a family plan costs about $30,000 per year.
The proposed budget is $120,872,577. The county expects to receive $74,947,865 in revenues next year, including $34,867,501 in property taxes, leaving a $45,924,712 balance. The county would use $6,600,000 from the general fund surplus, $10,000 from the STOP DWI fund surplus, $1,842,244 from the road fund surplus, $290,489 from the machinery fund surplus and $2,314,478 from the roads and bridges surplus.
The county would also use about $500,000 in sales tax revenue to offset some of the increases in the budget, Merrill said.
The board set the public hearing for the proposed budget for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Some of next year's budget savings were to use money included in this year's budget that wasn't used.
The board passed a resolution to transfer $330,000 from the personal services line to the equipment line for the Department of Public Works. Merrill said the surplus in the personal services line came from employee positions that were not filled. Public Works Commissioner James Thomas said the department will purchase several equipment, including drills, drill bits, replacing the John Deere loader and replacing the planning department's minivan with a Dodge Durango.
The board also introduced 14 local laws pertaining to salary increases for department heads.
Those department heads and their proposed salaries are as follows: Douglas Elston, director Community Mental Health, $108,061; Judith Garrison, election commissioner, $60,000; Stephen Hood, director of emergency services, $74,724; Joseph deMauro, director of information technology, $98,124; Wayne Shepard, director Office of the Aging, $85,377; Linda Pinner, personnel officer, $90,832; Joseph Ermeti, public defender, $187,650; Amanda Walsh, public health director, $113,654; James Thomas, commissioner of public works, $115,515; Sherri Falcone, director of real property tax services II, $90,000; Sylvia Armanno, commissioner of social services, $114,056; Mark Dunlop, director of veterans services agency, $55,845; Deborah Goodrich, county clerk, $81,127; Craig DuMond, sheriff, $104,690; and Beverly Shields, county treasurer, $81,127.
The board set a public hearing for 1 p.m. Nov. 21, at the county office building at 111 Main Street in Delhi, prior to the budget hearing and county board meeting.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
