CHENANGO COUNTY – Hoping for some flexibility in the budgeting process this fall, Chenango County’s financial leaders voted Thursday to pay off a short-term bond on the Public Safety Facility a year ahead of schedule.
Pressures from unknown 2008 compensation rates and departmental budgets, plus a combined $4.8 plus million needed for constructing a new cell at the Pharsalia landfill and new office space in Norwich, factored into their decision.
Treasurer William E. Evans said a continuous positive cash flow from a one percent dedicated sales tax - which has gone from $3.9 in 2003 to $4.7 million in 2006 - and his study of investment rates would make it possible to pay the note off early. Tax receipts collected through June were $2,303,028.
The dedicated tax was imposed in 2002 to build, operate and maintain the new $26 million Chenango County Public Safety Facility in the Town of Norwich. The tax will be used to afford the 25 new corrections officers hired for the larger facility as well as a $3.5 million county-wide emergency communications system.
Evans said he predicted enough sales tax income through 2011 would service a remaining $1.49 million long term note as long as expenses are kept in check. “We can pay it off as long as there aren’t more corrections expenses,” he said.
Finance Committee member Dennis Brown, D-Pharsalia, said, “Well, we aren’t going to make a fortune on prisoner charges, we’ve known that.”
Chenango County Sheriff Thomas J. Loughren told the Safety and Rules Committee last month that the number of farmed in prisoners from out of the county had remained low this year.
The Sheriff has so far passed through two committees a request to upgrade a part-time nurse to full time in order to cover the night shift at the jail. With the pending position’s increased salary factored in, and a review of the overall corrections budget, Brown questioned whether the county could afford to pay off the bond now.
“With a corrections budget of $3.6 million (to staff, operate and maintain) the jail and we’re getting $4.4 from the 1 percent, it’s going to be damn close. Can the county generate enough?” he asked.
With real growth in the county traditionally static at less than 1 percent per year over the last decade, the county treasurer said, “We are not going to grow ourselves out of this situation.”
Finance Committee Chairman Lawrence Wilcox, R-Oxford, said he would prefer to “drag my feet a couple of more months” until employees’ union contracts are ratified, but the next bond payment is due Aug. 23.
“We just need to be cautious that we stay in line with the (dedicated sales tax) legislation’s language, and that people don’t think that there is a windfall here,” Wilcox said.
Evans said: “We are not accruing this sales tax. There’s no surplus. ... Nobody’s been told that they could put their hands out until 2011 when that is paid. It should be our primary focus. Please don’t change that priority. We must pay off debt service first.”
Brown said that “a strong argument can be made” that consumers will most likely continue paying an extra one percent sales tax – until at least 2011– in order to afford public safety in Chenango County.
The committee considered paying off the note at this time last year, but flood-related cost damages were a concern.
Though it wasn’t mandated, the committee voted to present their decision to the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors at their next meeting Aug. 13.