Bedford County braces for steep budget cuts

BEDFORD — Services and departments in all levels of Bedford County government are likely to be affected by reductions in the next fiscal year’s budget, officials agreed Monday.

At the first of several planned work sessions on the 2010-2011 budget that starts July 1, county supervisors said there are no sacred cows as County Administrator Kathleen Guzi searches “A to Z and anywhere we can to make cuts.”

Guzi characterized the anticipated state cuts Monday as “grim” and said the county will plan for at least a $1.2 million reduction that will affect social services, youth and family services and constitutional officers. Local revenue from tax collections is also declining and supervisors concur that increasing tax rates to generate additional money is not an option.

“My personal opinion this early in the game is, everything is on the table,” Chairman Roger Cheek said. “Right now, we still don’t have any ideas about revenues.”

“I agree nothing is sacred,” said Supervisor Gary Lowry, who added he felt the impact on departments should be spread evenly. “It needs to be fair across the board.”

Guzi said staff is keeping close watch over state budget talks in Richmond and she expects to present a county budget proposal in late February. Supervisors are set to advertise it in late March and approve it in April, along with tax rates.

Guzi said “we’re putting ourselves in the citizen’s seat” in looking for places to cut.

“These are hard service-level questions we are going to put forward,” Guzi told the board in regard to proposals. “Don’t shoot the messenger ... we are just putting together options.”

Supervisor Dale Wheeler said he feels “people are hurting and cutting back like crazy” and the public expects officials to do likewise.

“Now times are bad, you’ve got to reduce government,” Cheek said.

The Bedford County School Board will begin reviewing its upcoming budget Thursday. Next week, Guzi said supervisors are set to meet with Superintendent Douglas Schuch to go over the figures — the division has projected more than $5 million in cuts as a “best case scenario.”

Supervisors expressed frustration Monday with the state’s cuts and the impact at the local level.

“I don’t really see how we can pick up the tab for the state’s mess,” Supervisor Annie Pollard said. “This is their mess — they need to fix it.”

The county’s current budget has a general fund of $83.7 million. Guzi said she expects the next budget’s total would be smaller.

The county, once a hotspot for residential development, has seen some projects fizzle over the past few years due to a depressed housing market.

Guzi said building permits in January, in terms of number and revenue to the county, were higher than during the same month in 2009, though “by not much.”

“It will be interesting to see if that trend continues,” she said. “Maybe it’s the beginning of a positive sign.”