BERRIEN COUNTY BOARD NEWS

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County looks to be heading into the new year in a strong financial position with a nearly balanced general fund budget and a healthy fund balance. Last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioners meeting featured the public hearing on the 2023 fiscal year with information provided by Financial Services Director Doug James.
James went through the proposed 2023 budget at the public hearing, outlining the overall budget picture as well as what is expected to happen with the general and other special funds. The county board is expected to approve the new budget at their meeting this week on Nov. 10.
As is the case for most of the year, county board meetings are held at the County Administration Center in St. Joseph Thursday mornings at 10:30 a.m. People can attend the meetings in person or watch on the county’s YouTube channel.
Overall, the 2023 budget calls for $179 million in revenue and other sources as well as $184 million in expenditures and other uses with $5.3 million taken out of county reserves to balance the budget. He noted that the budget doesn’t include any of the American Rescue Plan Act funds the county is getting but hasn’t spent yet.
James noted that the budget can be amended in the new year as more information about ARPA spending is known. Most of the overall budget deficit comes in funds other than the general fund.
For example, the County Road Fund will use $1.785 million of reserves to cover part of $4.428 million in capital outlays. Also, the Capital Projects Funds will use $2.424 million out of reserves. Other funds will also tap into reserves, including the health department, public safety, parks and 911 service.
As for the general fund, the 2023 budget will be basically balanced with revenue of $68.194 million which is slightly higher than expenditures of $68.188 million. Both numbers represent a small increase from 2022 levels. “The general fund balance basically remains flat and is at 33.6 percent of general fund expenditures,” he said.
He noted that a delinquent tax surplus of $1.225 million is part of what has allowed for the nearly balanced general fund budget. The Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund is expected to grow by $1.882 million which will more than cover the amount transferred to the general fund.
Property taxes and intergovernmental revenue remain the top two sources of revenue for the county government. Property tax revenue is expected to increase by $2.3 million or 4.3 percent, while intergovernmental revenue including state shared revenue is expected to rise by $991,000.
The 2023 budget is based on millage levies of 4.7680 mills for general operations, .0999 mill for parks, .4495 mill for 911 emergency services, .3496 mill for public safety and .2997 mill for senior centers. The public safety millage will be changed depending if voters approve an increase in this week’s election.
James noted that a copy of the budget can be found on the county’s website at www.berriencounty.org under the Budget Reports link.
The county employs the equivalent of 812.7 fulltime employees which is an increase of 7.1 people from this year and 23.3 people from 2021. Personnel expenditures are budgeted to increase by $906,000 with increases from the salary study changes being offset by healthcare and other costs going down.
When Commissioner Ezra Scott expressed concern that the new budget doesn’t address additional salary hikes that may come out of the salary study, Administrator Brian Dissette noted that the county board hasn’t taken a position on increasing the salaries of county employees not addressed in the salary study.
Dissette went on to say that the net change in the fund balance is across all the funds and not the general fund. “There is no fund balance change in the general fund, the general fund balance is not being drawn down,” he said.
Commissioners also got into a specific part of finances for one county department at last week’s meeting. They approved a change in how fuel is purchased for the road department which should allow the department to have the fuel they need to have on hand as the winter plowing season approaches.
Commissioners heard from Berrien County Road Department officials about changes they wanted made in how they buy fuel due to diesel and staff shortages. Commissioners later accepted the bid from the sole bidder for six months’ worth of diesel and unleaded gas.
Barbi Hoge of the road department said they have run into problems with their current practice of buying the fuel they need on a day to day basis. With the change, they are setting the price for six months and will see how that works out.
“The problem we’re running into is that transporters don’t have the staff to drive trucks,” she said. “One of our garages didn’t have fuel for three days because of that.”
She said the road department uses an average of 66,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 14,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline over a six month period. She noted that there is a concern with the current tight supply of diesel fuel to have enough on hand going into the winter plowing season.
County Commissioner Jim Curran reported that only one company submitted a bid. That company was Ceres and the bid accepted from them has them providing diesel fuel at $4.115 per gallon and unleaded fuel at $3.099 per gallon.
The diesel price will be a little higher, at $4.215 per gallon for two of the road department’s six road garages since those garages have smaller tanks for fuel storage. The contract runs through May 3, 2023.
The resolution approved by the county board noted that having a longer term contract will allow for more flexibility with deliveries and will likely lessen the total amount of funds spent on fuel purchases.
County Board Chairman McKinley Elliott noted that while the current low levels of diesel fuel supplies may be alleviated in coming weeks as farmers get their harvest work done, inflation will likely stay high well into the new year. “I applaud the efforts of the road department to get it done and get it done today,” he said.