No tax increases, layoffs in proposed Campbell budget

Campbell County’s budget, as proposed Monday night, includes no tax increases and no layoffs for municipal employees. It also reduces the current one-year hiring freeze to six months because, officials said, a one-year freeze impacts services too much.

The proposed $119 million budget, which includes the schools fund and general fund, is 1.2 percent smaller than the current year and includes $1.7 million pulled from savings. The money from the savings account includes a $1.5 million increase to the schools budget to help close the $9.4 million gap from state funding reductions. The local money is in line with what the school board requested from the county.

Supervisors are currently reading through the proposed budget and will have their first chance to discuss it during a workshop at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Much of the discussion likely will revolve around the school budget cuts, particularly those that would eliminate 84 positions, significantly reduce the Fray Education Center’s use and close Gladys Elementary School.

County Administrator David Laurrell said supervisors control the total amount of funding to the school board, but have “limited authority” to change details of the school board’s budget request. The school board, he said, is responsible for meeting certain state guidelines in its budget.

While the county has built its budget based on the projected state money coming in, Laurrell said, there are contingency plans in place in case some of that money falls through.

“I think there’s some concern that the state budget for next year is built on assumptions that don’t have a real solid backing to them,” he said. “We’re being cautious, that even though the state indicated those revenues are what’s estimated, that might not be what happens at the end of the day.”

Among the ways the county is trying to save money is by revamping its capital improvement plan, which lays out improvements over five years. Nearly all projects have been postponed by at least two years or eliminated completely. By restructuring that plan, the county is able to put $2 million in savings for landfill-related costs, either for legal expenses or to meet tightening environmental regulations.

The county also is looking at significantly changing health care coverage for employees. Employees will see their first insurance premium increase in the proposed budget, but in future years, Laurrell said, the county may switch the program to a health savings account.

Other recommended savings include cutting money to a number of community programs such as the Avoca museum in Altavista, the Leesville Lake Association, Altavista On Track, the Patrick Henry Memorial and the Altavista Sheltered Workshop.

“Obviously the board has the ability to reinsert any of these (cuts),” county finance director Alan Lane said.

In addition to extra money for schools, the largest increase is $500,000 to the adult detention budget, Laurrell said. “We have a higher inmate population … and we think a little of that is driven by the recession. People are turning to alternate methods to raise money and they are not all legal.”