Carroll County Council managed to make the final budget reductions to reach the appropriation or spending number as determined the county could afford by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). The reductions were made at a Thursday afternoon special meeting.

At a council meeting earlier in the week Ron Slavens suggested the council consider eliminating a position in the auditor's office to help correct the projected 2008 overspending. To address the last nearly $30,000 reduction needed, the council scheduled a special meeting 48 hours later.

Thursday's decision was not without a heated discussion which included a defeated motion to eliminate a position in the auditor's office.

On the chopping block was one clerk position. Prompted by Carl Abbott, Slavens explained the auditor's office suffered the fewest budget reductions, by per cent, of all county offices supported by the county general fund.

In an effort to preserve her staff, auditor Beth Myers scoured other department budgets for potentially unneeded money, which she found.

"I can't hardly manage not to have somebody," Myers said in defense of her actions. "My office runs this county."

She said she lost a part-time person when the area plan office secretary position was eliminated. She said her staff helps that office's customers when the zoning administrator is out of the office.

Myers said before removing a position from her office, council should look at other courthouse offices where employees play solitaire, read library books and surf the Internet during office hours. She suggested personnel reductions be made in those offices before her office where those activities do not take place.

Slavens emphasized the need for the county to have a zero or positive balance at the end of the year. He said without permanent cost eliminations that goal would not be achieved.

Ann Brown concurred with Slavens.

"If we don't make permanent cuts and just take from here and there, we will be living on borrowed money," she said.

She continued to explain the council has depleted inter-fund loans and would eventually expend the entirety of the bank loan "and more" based on the county's spending history. She said all further budget reductions must be permanent.

"If this is all we do and we don't make permanent cuts, we'll be doing it all over again," she said. "We are gambling with people's lives. Where is the money to pay the interest on the bank loan going to come from?"

"If we can't pay people, we can't have them here," she continued. "It comes down to how are we going to pay for it? We aren't doing ourselves a bit of good by avoiding it."

Slavens explained DLGF has approved budgets for the past six years based on projected income that the county could not afford. He explained that to use the number DLGF projected as income for 2008, $5,566,955, as a target to reach would be faulty reasoning. He predicted only reducing the budget to that amount would lead to overspending by the end of the year. He reminded council members the county started 2008 with a $300,000 deficit from which it has yet to recover.

Abbott said he was focused on getting to the end of 2008.

"The budget itself has the numbers," he said. "We have great unknowns in front of us."

Myers proposed to reduce the Wabash Valley and social security appropriations in the commissioners' budget, the transfer station budget for the refuse disposer, pay her own first deputy out of the plat book line item and deduct another $1,000 from other unspecified line items in her own operating budget. Another $4,106 was taken care of internally by council members.

Slavens made a motion to eliminate the clerk position in the auditor's office, which was seconded by Brown. Jerry Hendress voted in favor of the motion. Abbott, Rob Baker and Steve Ashby voted against the motion, making it necessary for council president Nancy S. Cripe to break the tie. She voted "no." Abbott moved to "accept Beth's proposal." The motion passed unanimously.

Property tax bills

Treasurer Jane Brewington told council members it was their decision when her office would do tax collections.

At an earlier meeting the council voted to not support a one-time tax collection for Carroll County as proposed by Brewington.

"It's my call to set the date for collection," she said.

Citing budget reductions for part-time help she said it could take her and her office worker between eight and 12 weeks to prepare the statements for mailing.

"I'm only going to work with what I've got," she said.

Parks department

Park board president Bob Burton explained two transfers requested to pay for utilities at both Deer Creek and French Post parks. The appropriation for utilities, which included security lighting and pumps, was set at $1,000 for 2008.

"We cut it down to the bare bones to make it work," Abbott said.

"It's depleted," Burton said.

Myers said that part of one of the transfers included a $182.50 encumbrance from 2007 that was not used.

The next meeting will be July 9 at 8 a.m.